To Kill A Mockingbird
by PenMightierThanTheSword
Summary: DMHG TRAGEDY While everything on the outside may be looking peachy for Hogwart's newest couple, it is actually falling rapidly apart. Hermione had no idea about the broken state of Draco's mind, but strangely enough, neither did he... Please R
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hey everyone! I won't bore you with long Author's Notes, but there are a few things I want to say. First of all, thanks for tuning into my story! I have been writing this on and off for two years, it's my baby! Ok, now the boring stuff. I don't own Harry Potter, nor anything to do with To Kill A Mockingbird. Or Coldplay (though I wish I did). Thanks for reading and I hope you like my story!

Please R&R!

CHAPTER 1

It was a cold, misty morning when the Hogwarts Express left platform 9 ¾ for the last time in the Golden Trio's schooling at Hogwarts. For the first part of the trip, the three of them sat silent in their usual cabin on the train, thinking about all of their experiences since meeting eachother and somewhat taking for granted that all of _their_ experiences had been so, so different from those of the other students.

Hermione was the first to snap out of her trip down memory lane. Seeing the almost mournful looks on her friends' faces, decided that this trip should be remembered as a fun one, rather than a depressed blurr. She spoke up:

"Look guys, the year's hardly even started! It's not time to be reminiscing quite yet!"

On hearing this, Harry and Ron immediately perked up, realizing just how over-dramatic they were being.

"Sorry Hermione, just that it's our last trip to Hogwarts. Just makes me a little sad is all." said Ron, trying desperately not to turn into a blubbering mess.

Hermione slid closer to him and put her arm around his shoulders, and he unceremoniously started to cry into her shoulder. When he wasn't looking, Harry and Hermione shared amused smiles at their friend's outburst. Trying to keep his laughter at bay, Harry chose to turn to a more serious subject to distract them from the hysterical mass of red hair and tears hanging off Hermione's shoulder.

"So Hermione, what exactly do you think your and Draco's Head Girl and Head Boy duties will involve?"

Hermione's head shot up at the mention of _Draco_. It sounded so strange coming from Harry's mouth. Seeing his expression, Hermione guessed that it had been rather difficult for Harry to refer to him by his first name. And then his expression changed slightly and Hermione understood. If she were to survive this year being civil to _him_, both she and her friends would have to learn to treat him with as much respect as could be mustered, at least in the eyes of the teachers. She then answered his question.

"Oh, you know. Night patrols, organizing social events, trips to Hogsmead, that sort of stuff. Not very exciting."

And then as if Harry had heard her thoughts, he mentioned,

"And you can count on me never referring to him as _Draco_ again." They smiled at eachother. No way in hell were Harry and Ron going to be 'nice' to _him_, and deep down she knew that.

Ron was quiet now, appearing to have gotten over his little fit, and was able to sit 'unaided'. They carried out the rest of the trip cracking jokes, with Ginny joining them half way to Hogwarts.

Eventually, the Hogwarts Express ground to a halt and everyone made their way to the Horseless Carriages.

They all entered the Great Hall to watch the sorting of the terrified little first years', then ate excessively at the Welcoming Feast before settling into their dorms. Hermione and Draco were instructed to wait in the Great Hall to be shown to their own quarters by Professor Dumbledore.

Their new rooms were not in either of the other houses' towers, but in a small tower between them, with two houses roughly on either side and central to the whole large building, so they would be able to do their night patrols without having to walk for miles. It also meant that if there were any problems, it would not be hard to find their quarters for help or complaints by the other students.

Their new rooms were beautiful. They had their own Common Room, complete with chunky couches, lush purple gold embroidered carpet, and a roaring fireplace. At the back of the room opposite to the door, were two stone spiral staircases disappearing up and around the corner, just like in the other houses, except the rooms at the top were singles not dorms. There were two rooms at the top of each of those staircases. A bathroom and of course, a bedroom.

Dumbledore issued these simple instructions: These private quarters were not to be taken advantage of. They were each permitted two friends at a time to visit, but never to stay the night, no parties, and the trust that they would be kept clean and in good order. Their belongings were already in their rooms unpacked thanks to the house elves and their rooms decorated in their house colours and hopefully to their liking.

Hermione was far too excited to see her new living quarters. She normally would have liked to sit by the fire for a little while, thinking about the new school year and what being Head Girl would mean for her, but instead she headed up her stairs to check out her new room.

She started with the door on the right. She opened it to find a beautiful bathroom, complete with a large bathtub and shower. It was all black marble tiles with white china sink, bath and shower floor. There were beautiful silver taps and fittings and fluffy towels in her house colours. After exploring the many lotions and bubble mixtures around the bath, Hermione left the bathroom and opened the door on the left. When she opened the door she could hardly believe her eyes.

What Hermione found was an incredible queen size four-poster bed, between two long French windows, where the moonlight was spilling into the room in stark streams, illuminating the room in a somber pale light. The duvet was thick, with a rich silk cover in deep maroon and gold. The pillows were deep and fluffy and the satin sheets looked so inviting. There were two beautifully carved dark rosewood doors on the left wall of the room, which opened up into a large walk-in wardrobe. Inside Hermione found all of her clothes hung neatly inside and drawers for her smaller items.

Feeling in a rather corny mood, Hermione outstretched her arms and twirled around the room, ravishing in her gorgeous new surroundings. She twirled her way across the room and landed face up on her bed. She laid there for a while, and then (in true Hermione fashion,) she broke out her school books and began studying in preparation for tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 2

The next morning Hermione woke up early to get everything ready for the day ahead. On her way to breakfast, she stopped off at the Gryffindor common room to see if Harry and Ron were up yet. She found Harry sitting on the couches in front of the long burnt out fireplace.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked.

"He should be on his way down. Slept in again." Harry replied rolling his eyes.

At that exact moment there was a large crash and Ron came tumbling down the stairs. He landed in a heap at the bottom, spent a few seconds staring at the ceiling, regained himself, and stood up. He brushed off his robe sleeves and greeted everyone good morning as though nothing had happened. This behavior was so typical of Ron, the others barely looked up before proceeding to breakfast.

The Great Hall was surprisingly full for that time of the morning. It must have been the thought of making a good first impression at their first day of classes; either to make up for time lost last year, or in the first year's case, to be able to survive this one.

They made their way over to the Gryffindor Table and sat down. By the time they had finished eating, it seemed as though the whole of the school had arrived...all except one. While Hermione was talking to her friends at her table, her mind wandered to her new responsibilities this year, and whom she would have to share them with. She glanced over to the Slytherin table and scanned it up and down, but there was no sign of Malfoy. _'Must have already eaten something and left'_ she thought. She was distracted from her thoughts by a familiar looking red head bounding toward her.

"Hermione! Good morning! Pinch and a slap...for the first day of...the year? Is that it? Hmm… that doesn't quite fit…"

This was an old Muggle tradition carried out by little children. Ginny looked a little embarrassed.

"It was in a Muggle book I read in the holidays. Thought I'd surprise you with it, but I forgot how it went exactly..."

Hermione smiled, flattered that her friend would try to remember something to surprise her.

"Close enough. It's actually 'pinch and a punch for the first day of the month' so you'll have to wait a few more weeks for that one. I was just heading back to my room to get my books, wanna come?"

Ginny beamed, and the two walked off together to Hermione's room. The password ('Fix You', Hermione's favourite Coldplay song,) was spoken to a small wizard statue. He then opened a small door in the bottom of the wall just big enough for him to fit through, and opened the door on the other side; amazingly fast for a statue of his size. The door swung open and Ginny stared wide-eyed at the finery of the carpet and the enormity of the room. It was almost as big as the Gryffindor Common Room, only that was shared by many students, this one was only shared by two.

Hermione raced up to her room, grabbed her books, and on her way out remembered Draco. Hermione was determined to try and get along with him somewhat this year, and so raced up his stairs and knocked on his bedroom door. There was no answer, so she quickly opened the door and looked inside. There was no sign of him, though she noticed the tidiness of his room. Hers was already covered in clothes and books, yet his was impeccable. Books neatly on shelves, cloaks hanging neatly in the open wardrobe, bed made neatly. She shut the door quietly and left the common room.

"What were you doing up there?" Ginny asked.

"Looking for Malfoy; he must have already left. I've got potions with him next, maybe I'll find him then."

The two girls parted in the corridor outside her room; Ginny had Care of Magical Creatures with HufflePuff. In the dungeons Hermione met up with Harry and Ron, and walked in just in time for Snape to arrive. Draco was nowhere to be seen, and ended up walking in 5 minutes late for class, not that Snape cared. Had it been anyone else of course, it would have been a different story.

After class, Hermione separated from Harry and Ron and went to catch up with Malfoy. She had made a decision to try and get along with him, and she may as well start now.

"Where were you this morning?"

He looked at her with disgust.

"Are you talking to me?" he spat at her.

"Umm yeah. I didn't see you at breakfast and you weren't in our common room either."

"What, so I can't go somewhere without you knowing it Mudblood? Are you going to try to be in control of me this year? Is that it?"

She had approached him with the idea that this year would be different. That because they would be working so closely together that he might be nice to her, or at _least_ call her by her _last_ name. She was deeply hurt by this; she just wanted to know if he was ok, and here he was overreacting. He had seen the look of hurt on her face at calling her Mudblood, and while he enjoyed making her miserable, he did feel a little guilty this time. He had looked her over the day before, and noticed that she was no longer the flat-chested, buffy haired child she used to be, but a beautiful woman, who could look after herself and though very patient, would not take crap from anyone this year.

She glared at him, but decided to contain her anger for their public image, and instead of exploding in his face, walked away as though the comment never happened. Though he had seen the look in her eyes. She stormed between Harry and Ron who were waiting for her, exclaiming,

"He'll never change."

Draco smirked at her last remark he had overheard, that he had upset her so, but still felt that small pinprick of regret at what he had said. But he was a Malfoy. It didn't bother him long.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 3

The rest of that day went on without a hitch, and Hermione eventually calmed down from the events of the morning. That evening after dinner Draco and Hermione were requested to deliver a speech officially introducing themselves and welcoming in the new students to the year. Hermione spoke:

"Good evening Professors and fellow students. My name is Hermione Granger and I will be your Head Girl this year. This blonde haired young man standing next to me is Draco Malfoy, and Head Boy for this year. As you second years and older students should know by now, Draco and I are none other than worst enemies, and as _I_ am going to try my hardest this year to make a fair go of getting along with him, recent events occurring earlier today would appear that he does not feel the same. So, you will of course have to pardon my colleague's rudeness over the next year. It seems he's not quite ready to give up his tough-guy act. Who knows what he's compensating for?."

She said this with a smile on her face, feeling rather proud of herself for bringing this much attention to him. Draco's face spelt none other than contempt for Hermione at this moment, and total embarrassment at being spoken of in such a way in front of the whole school.

"I will now hand you over to our Head Boy for this year, please, try and make him feel welcome...Draco Malfoy!"

Such behavior, you might think, would come with a stern talking to by the Headmaster, but instead, when Draco had finished with his speech and the school had gone to leave, Dumbledore simply stood up, whispering with a glint in his eye to Professor McGonagall next to him,

"This is going to be an interesting year."

On Hermione's way off the stage, she whispered to Draco,

"That was nothing. You keep acting the way you normally do and that won't be that last of such speeches."

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. Being blackmailed by Granger? No way. He wasn't going to stand for it. He would just have to beat her at her own game. Hermione made her way down to where the Griffindors were crowded after the meal, only to be congratulated by her peers at the marvelous speech she had just made. Slightly rattled that she had actually pulled it off, she walked out of the Great Hall and into her dorm before she had another run-in with Draco, and went to bed earlier that usual.

Hermione awoke the following morning to an unbelievably loud banging on her door. It did not wake her fully at first, and she was too sleepy to be able to tell what was going on. She lay there for a minute, only to hear someone yelling:

"Granger! Granger! Wake up! It's important! It's an emergency!"

She looked over to her Muggle alarm clock to see that it was only 5:45am. Her alarm didn't go off for another hour and a half. Finally everything clicked and she woke up completely. She bounded out of bed and flung open the door to find Draco standing on the threshold, wearing only his silken boxers and a relaxed smirk on his face. She looked stunned for a moment, then he spoke:

"Morning sweetie." he said smugly.

"Just wanted to let you know. I'm going to the bathroom now to have a shower. Then I'll do my hair and get dressed, rattle around in the dungeons for a while, and go to breakfast where I'll check in with you again, ok? Just so you know. Wouldn't want another repeat of yesterday now, would we?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He reached up and held her chin in his fingers, then leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Miss you. See you in a few hours." He winked at her and walked off to his own staircase, a more than satisfied smirk on his face. Hermione stood there in complete disbelief. She watched his muscular back as he walked down her stairs. _Game on_ she thought to herself.

She stepped back and shut the door, flopped back onto her bed and thought about it. Yes, she was annoyed, but come to think of it, it was pretty funny. She eventually fell asleep with an amused smile on her face, and was woken an hour and 25 minutes later.

At breakfast, Hermione sat drowsily poking her porridge, absentmindedly sprinkling teaspoon after teaspoon of sugar on the top. When she realized what she was doing, it was far too sugary to eat, and she pushed it aside. When she was leaving the great hall with Ron and Harry on their way to Herbology, Draco approached her and seemed to be in a hyper-active mood. He was circling around her not seeming to notice Ron and Harry at all.

"Morning again my sweet" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"How did we sleep last night? Good I hope. Well, I'm off to _our_ dorm to collect my things. I have Arithmacy now, so I'll be seeing you later in Muggle Studies. So now you don't have to worry about me. Good Day!" As he said this, he pretended to tip an imaginary hat before turning and leaving for their dorm.

Ron and Harry stood dumbfounded at what they had just seen. Not only the display Malfoy had made, but that it left a smile on Hermione's face. _This is getting ridiculous!_ she thought to herself. That morning she had taken her books with her to breakfast, and hugged them close to her chest as she walked down the hall to Herbology, too deep in her world to answer the numerous questions from her two confused friends.

In Herbology the Griffindors and Ravenclaws learnt about the Wizarding equivalent of a Venus Fly Trap; this one was much more vicious and was not to be touched or even approached by the students. Neville Longbottom had the most unfortunate accident of tripping over a chair leg on his way out of the door to the toilet. He was traveling at a fair distance away from the plant on the front table, though he tripped and skidded forward on his knees so far, he ended up kneeling right in front of it.

The plant opened its huge jaws and lunged at Neville's head. He was too frightened to move, and its jaws encompassed half of his face. Its teeth sunk in, and in a second, it was over. Neville was left kneeling there. Some of the other students helped him up, but no one had expected the damage that was now Neville's face. He had large bite marks on half of his face, like two C's joined together at the ends, and he was going bright green. Before all of their eyes, small green shoots sprung from the bite marks and there was suddenly a garden bed in place of his face!

Hermione (as Head Girl) was ordered immediately to rush him to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey tried her hardest to look busy with him, when in actual fact she had no idea what to do. Hermione decided that she'd stick around and keep him company while was told to drink this potion and that until one would finally work. Madam Pomfrey would say things like,

"Here dear, try this one" and would pour vibrantly coloured liquids into what she guessed was his mouth, and then things like,

"No, that's not it. Ah! I know! Just wait, I'll go and get another that'll do just the trick."

But it never did. He ended up spending the whole day in the Hospital Wing, the Ministry was called in, and they in turn sent one of their best doctors to come and help. Hermione left the Wing at the end of first period, and went to her room to change books for her next class - Muggle Studies.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 4

Upon entering Muggle Studies, Hermione noticed there were not many people there yet, she was a little early. She did see that Ron and Harry had saved a seat for her and walked towards them, but something intercepted her along the way. Draco jumped in front of her, a look of sarcastic worry on his face.

"Oh my dear!" he said, seeming not to notice the strange looks he was getting from the other students.

"I have heard the most terrible story that you were in the Hospital Wing all last period! Are you ok? You look positively ill!"

Hermione looked at him suspiciously, a grin starting to creep onto her face.

"Thanks, _(I think)_ but I feel fine. Actually I had to take Neville to the Hospital Wing, he was bitten on the face by a Wizardous Venus Fly Trap."

Draco put on a face of mock relief.

"Oh, I'm so pleased, I was worried sick! Still, you should have told me, then I wouldn't have had to worry! If you had simply told me where you were going - as is only fair. It's not _even_ if you know where I am and I have no idea where you've popped off to! You my dear, you have to hold up your end of the bargain." He smiled at this, and moved to Hermione's side to walk with her.

"But I..." she began to say before she was caught off guard by him winding his arm around hers. He walked her to her seat like you might a frail old lady, pulled it out and insisted on helping her sit. He patted her head when she was comfortable and bent down to just above their heads to say,

"Now I'll just be sitting over there. If you need me, just call." His voice was dripping with sarcasm, last year she would have slapped him for being so mocking, but this was different.

Draco sat in his usual spot in the back of the room, leaning back on his chair with a satisfied look on his face. Once Hermione had finished staring back at him in confused amusement, she turned to the front of the room looking totally composed, as if nothing had happened. Harry and Ron had given up asking "WTF?" questions and decided to keep quiet. Though it somewhat disturbed them that these two were supposedly getting along so well, they exchanged silent, 'it's better for them if they're not at each other's throats' looks and moved on with the rest of the class.

A few mornings later, Hermione awoke to the sound of a knocking at her door. She rolled her eyes and got out of bed, making her way to the door. On opening it, she automatically said,

"Ok, I'm sorry for what I said on the first day, but do we really have to continue with this charade?" She looked disgruntled, and tired of being woken up at the crack of dawn every morning by a half naked Malfoy informing her of his plans for the next few hours. After she had said this, she realized that for the first time at this time of the morning, he was not half naked, but fully dressed in his casual robes.

"Actually Granger, I came to tell you that it's Saturday; you've slept in," he motioned to her alarm clock, "and we're supposed to be escorting a group of first years to Hogsmead in 20 minutes"

This took a second to register with Hermione. She spun around to look at her alarm clock, it read 10:10. She quickly let out a small squeak and shut the door to get dressed. After a second of thinking where to start, she realized how rude she'd been and re-opened the door. She was just in time to catch Malfoy turning away and towards the fireplace.

"Malfoy?" she said, and he turned around.

"Yes?" he asked, though he knew what was coming.

"Thanks." He was just within arm's reach, and without thinking, she grabbed his chin lightly between her thumb and forefinger, and pecked him on the cheek. This of course a joke. Mimicking as he had done only a few mornings before, she winked at him before turning into her room and closing the door. She began getting dressed, not stopping to think of the daring thing she had just done.

After dressing, combing her hair and scoffing a muffin for breakfast, she walked to the entrance hall to assemble the first years ready to leave. Surprisingly, she made it there at 10:25. She entered the entrance hall to find lots of bubbling first years ready for their first trip to Hogsmead, a place most of them had heard of, but never been to. Some Hermione knew by name, others she had met informally, but she intended to know each and every one and a little about them before the year was up.

Malfoy was on the other side of the hall, and as she could not make eye contact with him nor make her way through the crowd to him, decided to raise her own voice to get things going. She headed up the nearest set of stairs a little way up, and addressed the first years.

"Good morning all! Welcome to your first trip to Hogsmead. I'm not going to drone on with boring rules...just remember, stay together in groups of two or three and don't wander too far. I trust you will all be able to judge your own boundaries for yourself. Could I have all of you assembling into your houses please, permission forms at the ready." She pointed to four corners of the room for each of the separate houses to group into. Naturally, she made her way to Gryffindor, Malfoy made his way to Slytherin and two representatives also in 7th year made their way to Huffle Puff and Raven Claw.

They all had their permission forms and arrived in the small village without a problem. Once dispersed, Hermione made her way to the book store, and picked up a few novels for 'light reading'. Malfoy had gone off to Quidditch Corner, where he searched for the latest Nimbus, and checked out all the latest equipment. The two met on their ways from one shop to the next. They stopped dead, facing each other, Hermione remembering the fun she'd had since the year had started, and smiled at the ground, occasionally looking up at him to try and read his features.

"Terribly sorry I didn't mention where I was going." she said, playing along with the joke.

"You didn't have to tell me you were going to the _bookstore_, I could have told you that" he smiled.

They stood there another minute, then out of the blue he said,

"Shall we?" and glided his hand in the direction of the path. Hermione thought for a minute until she realized what he was talking about, the nodded, smiled and began walking with him.

"How are you finding your Head Girl status?" he asked, being the perfect gentleman.

"Actually I'm rather enjoying it. It's been quite a surprising year so far." she raised her eyebrows at this last comment, implying that she had indeed, been rather surprised at events so far.

"Oh? How so?" They turned the corner and headed down a less busy road.

"Oh, Neville being bitten on the face by that plant, having my own lavish dorm, how easy it is to meet people now that they all know who I am, discovering you aren't such a bad person as I thought, and actually having fun even though I have all of these new commitments and responsibilities." she rattled them all off as if they were not a big deal, though one in particular caught his attention.

"No that bad after all, eh? Well I knew you'd warm to me Granger. It just didn't require as much time _or_ punishment as I thought it would." he said with a teasing smile.

"Don't go letting this get to your head Malfoy, I didn't say I liked you, just that you're not _quite_ the ass everyone makes you out to be!" He looked a little hurt at this, but she knew he wasn't serious.

"Thanks..._I think_." He said, " And anyway, if there ever was a year when we came to actually get along, it would be this year. First of all we have to spend a fair lot of time together, and second of all, we could do it without upsetting Carrot Top and Scar Face" While she did not like him referring to her two best friends like this, he did have a point. It would not look suspicious if they were to spend time together this year, they _did_ have a lot of organizing work to do, and Harry and Ron would just think of it as 'business as usual'. She had for some time now wanted to spend time with someone **other** than Harry and Ron, and Malfoy didn't seem too bad an option right now. I mean, she wasn't going to use him and throw him away when she'd gotten over the little 'I feel too crowded by Harry and Ron' thing, but he was in actual fact a pretty good guy.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 5

They walked around talking for what seemed only a few short minutes, but when they turned back on the main road and Hermione looked up to see the large town clock, she realized that it was 1:30, and they were supposed to be back at the castle right about now. They knew that as Head Girl and Boy they would likely get into trouble for being so late, and on rallying the students, Hermione thought of a plan that might just get them out of whatever punishment they were likely to be in for. She asked them to wait just a second, and that she would be back in a minute. Despite Malfoy's protests, she ran to the book store and rushed to the plant section.

She opened a book to a rare species of plant that grew in the area. She took the book and walked to the 'spells for knowledge section' and opened one of the incantation books. She zapped a piece of paper onto the empty space on the shelf in front of her. Hermione knew this was plagiarism, and in a book store you were supposed to _buy_ the book and not just copy out at will, but she would come back and pay for the page another time. She whispered the spell to copy the incantation and plant information onto the same page, shut the books, ordered them back to their original spaces and rushed back outside to the group.

Malfoy firstly gave her a 'what the hell were you doing in there we're already late' look. When she did not give any signal to answer him, he followed it with a 'what the hell are you up to?' questioning one and the shrugging of his shoulders. She nodded as if to say 'it's ok' and started to lead the group back to the castle. When they were on the dense garden path in view of the castle, she curved them around so as to walk into a small area surrounded by trees, to be out of view from the castle and the public. Hermione caught Malfoy rolling his eyes and raising his arms in the air.

"What the hell is she doing now!" he muttered under his breath at the back of the crowd. She stood on a fallen tree trunk so the crowd could see her.

"As we have been out after our curfew, I have devised an idea for a plausible explanation. In these areas grows the rare plant named 'Horticulture's Nightmare'. In view of the fact that we are walking this way to get back to the castle, I thought we might stop off here for a minute and '_research_' it a little." Hearing several groans and complaints from the crowd, she smiled.

"I know this sounds really lame, but it's not what you think. Here is a picture of the plant" she held up a picture she had copied from the book also.

"This picture is all the information you will have to remember on your own. I have an 'Applied Learning' spell with me which I... borrowed from the bookstore's pamphlet rack, and if you will all stand together it will be over in a second."

She muttered the spell and ran her wand over the lines of text on the page in front of her. She then pointed the wand at the group and watched as lines upon lines of information ran out of her wand and into the noses of all of the First years. Her, Malfoy and the other two house representatives were included, and in about thirty seconds everyone was gossiping about how it felt to have a spell put on them.

"Wow! It tickled!" she heard a few of them say.

"We are going to be heading back to the castle now, to be greeted and questioned by McGonagall and possibly some of the other teachers. Let me do the talking, and say nothing of the spell. We could all get in serious trouble if anyone found out." The students stopped and all eyes were upon her.

"Ok, ok, _I_ could get in a lot of trouble, but I'm not afraid to hand out detention slips to anyone I know or even _think_ has told someone! That sounds like trouble enough to me." she said triumphantly.

They made their way up the castle only to find Professor Sprout standing in the doorway. It would appear that the teachers had been taking it in turns to wait for the half an hour overdue students to return, and it just happened to by Prof. Sprout when they finally did.

"And just where have you been! You're half an hour late and there were no teachers with you!"

The students had ground to a halt upon seeing her in the doorway and Hermione was fighting her way through to reach the front. When she appeared, Professor Sprout demanded to know what had happened.

"Not very responsible of you Miss Head Girl! Did the time get away from you?"

"Actually, that's not the case at all Professor." her face betraying no guilty looks, she nodded for her to continue.

"We were on our way back and I thought it would be a nice idea to stop off on the way and learn a little something about Horticulture's Nightmare. Sorry it took so long, we would have been back in time, but I got a little carried away with the lesson"

The students groaned and one said

"Yeah she went on for ever!"

Hermione smiled innocently, partly because she had gone too far to go back now, and partly glad at the students for using their initiative and act as though the event had really happened. Hermione did not like lying, nor did she do it often, but found on this occasion that it came quite naturally to her.

"Right...well then, I guess I had better quiz you all on your new knowledge." Malfoy was standing at the back of the crowd again, listening to the whole event, somewhat surprised that she had pulled it off so far. He figured Hermione being such a goodie-two shoes she would never go in for such a thing, let alone think of it herself. Professor Sprout cleared her throat.

"How many times in the natural life of a Horticulture's Nightmare does it change it's colour?" She let out a small gasp as all of the first years' hands flew into the air, eagerly waiting to answer.

"You" she pointed to a small boy with dark blonde hair in the front of the group. She did not know his name, but she knew that he was not a very bright student, and she wanted to see just how well they had all listened; she almost felt as though she could not justify their lateness until she was sure they had learn something.

"17 times" he announced with a smile on his face. Professor Sprout was just about to move onto her next question, when he continued talking.

"They change colour every two to three years, depending on how strong they are and how long they are going to live for. If they are weaker and are not going to live for as long, they will change every two years, but if they are strong and are going to live for a longer time, they change every three years." The Professor was almost speechless. He continued...

"You cannot kill a Horticulture's Nightmare. They will live out their natural life no matter how many spells you put on them or how many potions you concoct to kill them. They can only be transplanted, though this has it's risks. You must make sure..." he abruptly stopped when elbowed in the ribs by the person standing next to him. His answer was sounding a lot like it had come directly from a textbook… He stood back up and smiled as though he had simply finished.

Not wanting to ask any more questions, she eyed them all suspiciously before turning and walking quickly inside. There were quiet cheers from the group as they made their way inside. Most of them tapped Hermione on their way past, and said things like 'good job' and 'nice cover'.

She walked through the entrance hall and was walking up the stairs toward her room when Malfoy ran up the stairs in front of her. On his way past he said,

"Nice job Granger. Guess we're all learning new things this year"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 6

She opened up the Common Room door to find it empty. '_Must be in his room_' she thought. She lay down on the couch. She was exhausted; not having much sleep last night for reading 'The Lord of The Rings Trilogy' and having been woken up at odd hours of the morning for the last week by Malfoy 'informing' her of his whereabouts until he saw her next. She took out her iPod and fell asleep listening to the soothing sounds of her favourite Muggle group, Coldplay.

Malfoy came out of his room on his way to the Slytherin Dungeons and couldn't see Hermione anywhere. _'That's funny, thought I heard her come in_' When he got to the door he stopped, remembering he had left behind a book needing to be returned to the library. He turned around and found Hermione laying on the couch facing the cold fireplace. He approached her with caution, unsure whether she was asleep or awake. Upon finding her asleep, he rested his arm on the mantelpiece and took a moment to examine her, marvel at her beauty. Soon enough he had slipped into his own little dream world...

Hermione awoke to see Malfoy resting on the fireplace, eyes glazed over, staring at her. She waved her hand back and forth in the air to try and snap him out of it, but she reasoned he must have been pretty far away. She got up but amazingly, he did not stir. She crept up behind him, and got right in close to his ear.

"Draco..." she whispered. No response.

"Wake up!" she said quickly and louder than before. He instantly jolted into action. Swinging around, he grabbed her side as one would an attacker and looked utterly shocked at who was standing behind him. His left hand was in the air pending an assault on the 'intruder' but it looked more like he was just about to take her hand in a waltz. They stood frozen for a minute, unable to move, his hand still at her side.

"Draco..." she said. He took this in his head as 'oh Draco!'. He smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"You're squeezing me" His smile dropped and he let go, looking a little embarrassed.

"Sorry. Million Miles away." He looked at the floor as if remembering what he had been thinking about. Hermione decided to make light of the situation.

"Shall we?" she said, noticing his arms were still in mid air and raised hers in the same way. He lowered his arms, but she continued. She moved away, as if holding an imaginary partner and danced around the room with mocking grace. He scowled at her frolicking around like an idiot, circle after circle after circle. He went to leave to the library, book in hand, when her voice stopped him.

"Oh, and I really thought we had a moment there" she said sarcastically, trying to stifle the giggles. He paused only for a moment, then went on out the door annoyed at her childishness. She bent over in hysterics, and fell backwards onto the couch.

When she had stopped laughing, she lay there and thought for a moment. Had it been the same Draco Malfoy last year she would not have cared for making fun of him, but this year he was different, he really had changed. She wanted to find him and apologize, but he would likely get over it; after all, he'd had to put up with far worse from the three of them for the last 6 years. She got over her guilt and went to her room to read the rest of 'The Return of the King'.

About two hours later, she heard the door to the common room open and swift footsteps glide through the room.

"Malfoy" she called, and the footsteps stopped where they were.

"Come up" He thought for a moment before ascending the stairs to her room. The door was adjar, and from it he could smell perfume and hairspray. He tapped the door open and popped his head in through the doorway. She was laying on her bed with a book in front of her face. She looked up when she heard the door open.

"Sorry about before. I was just mucking around. I didn't mean to aggravate you as much as I did. Actually I thought you might come frolicking around the room with me" She mentally slapped herself at her last comment. She was supposed to be apologizing, not making more jokes and worsening the situation.

"Don't worry about it" He turned and walked back down the stairs. Hermione shrugged it off. She had not read a full paragraph when he reappeared in the door.

"I'm sorry for storming out like I did" Apologizing looked uncomfortable for him; she figured he didn't do it very often.

"To be honest, I got out into the corridor and once I'd stopped fuming, I kept imagining you circling around the room like a lunatic and it was actually pretty funny. I really hate you sometimes Granger, but I now realize you're pretty quick on your feet, and I don't mean the way you galloped around the place" He smiled and left again.

She lay there with a big cheesy grin on her face, marveling at the casual way he had complemented her on her fast wit. She finished the chapter and eventually went to go and find Ron and Harry to catch up with them before dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 7

The weeks passed and Hermione was feeling more and more comfortable in Draco's presence. He was no longer the sniveling prat he used to be, but a fun guy who didn't want to take anything much very seriously and just wanted to make her laugh. She did notice however that his attitude towards Harry and Ron did not change. He was still the same enemy to them, doing anything possible to make their lives difficult. Nowadays though, she often found herself laughing at the jokes Draco made towards her friends, which they certainly did not appreciate. She found it hard not to; she was on both sides now. Yes, she had been friends with Harry and Ron since first year, but she was now realizing that Draco wasn't so bad after all and he too, was quick witted. The truth was that she liked Draco, and she wasn't going to let Ron and Harry's feelings about him get in the way.

_**- FLASHBACK -**_

A few weeks ago she had cast a spell on her bedroom door before closing it for the night. The plan was, Draco would tap on her door in the morning as he usually did at some ungodly time of the morning, and would hear a loud 'popping' noise behind him. This was the spell. When he turned around to see what the noise was, the door would reach out with large wooden hands and grab him, pulling him backwards into it's woody clutches. At 7:30 that morning when Hermione opened her door, she would find Draco pinned, half naked, to the other side.

All she could do was laugh. She had known the spell would work, but she had not been able to quite picture just how helpless he would look.

"What the hell Granger? Get me out of this bloody thing!" She painted a mock-pitying look on her face.

"Sorry Draco, I can't. The effects don't wear off for at least three hours" She stood back a minute to watch him squirm needlessly. She found it adorable, his thin yet muscular body wearing nothing but his green silky boxers and his toes hanging only inches from the floor. She swung the door open (being careful not to slam him into the wall) and walked into her room, returning with a thick book which she placed under his feet so he had something to stand on.

"What time did you arrive?" He was thinking at which time he had come to wake her up.

"I think it was around 6:35"

"Right then. You have arithmacy first, right? This means that the spell won't wear off until 9:35 at least and you'll be almost an hour late with getting ready. I'll go now and get you some breakfast to speed the things along a bit." She turned to leave but stopped to take one last look at him hanging there. His head slouched in exhaustion but he raised it when he felt Hermione's eyes on him, his grey eyes glancing through his silky blonde fringe. He looked almost pitiful.

"It was the last time I was going to do it anyway" he said pathetically. She smiled and left for breakfast.

In the Great Hall Hermione found Harry and Ron eating breakfast. She was much later than usual and they looked at her expecting her normal explanation she gives when she's late. But she did not give one this time. She simply took two plates, filled them with food and walked out of the Great Hall. They sat staring in the direction she disappeared in; it was odd, she had a smile on her face.

Hermione got back to the room and approached Draco, still hanging from the door, still standing on the book, still half naked. She picked up a strawberry and held it in front of his mouth. He looked at her like 'as if' but ate it anyway, he didn't have any choice. And so it was. Draco hung there while Hermione spoon fed him his breakfast and waited with him until the spell wore off and he dropped to the floor. When the door let him go, it did so abruptly, causing him to knock Hermione off her feet and land on top of her. What an awkward moment! He lay there a moment, before apologizing and helping her up. They stood facing each other for while. He had leaned in as if to kiss her, so close his fringe caressed her cheek. But he thought better of it and changed his mind. He saw that she had picked up on it and ran down to his room. _'Oh I wish he had_' she thought briefly before collecting herself and going to class.

_**- END FLASHBACK –**_

Today was a normal, boring day. Ever since _it_ happened - the moment at the top of her stairs - she could not get off her mind. At first Draco had been somewhat shy toward her, but as it started to slip his mind he returned to normal again. She had often dreamt about that moment, each time it was the same up until the part where he leaned in, and then it changed. Sometimes he walked away as he had done; sometimes he did kiss her, a long and passionate kiss; one other time she had had a rather erotic dream in which they made their way into her room and onto her bed. Another time, when she had had a really bad day and was annoyed at everything, she dreamt that he had changed his mind, and she pulled out a dagger and stabbed him in the stomach. She woke up screaming and Draco rushed through the door. She was sweating all over, and he sat with her until she fell asleep again. She realized just how angry she was at him for backing away from the kiss, and all the aggression build it up and had to be let out.

He now walked into the common room and found her slouched on the couch, no book, just staring at the fire burning away. He sat down next to her.

"Hi" he said

"Hey. How are you?"

"Oh ok I guess, just had Herbology and Pansy wouldn't shut up! You?" Hermione hadn't heard anything he had just said. She was glassy eyed, watching his lips move and the lust built up inside her. She leaned into him, and paused at the same spot he had. Now she understood how much pressure there was resting in this spot. She wanted to back out, but she knew that she would be kicking herself later. She went the rest of the way, his soft lips coming into contact with hers sending shivers all through her body. She did not expect it, but his hands came up and held the sides of her face, stroking her cheeks as he kissed her.Eventually they broke apart and took a breath.

"Sor-" She went to say but he cut her off by putting his finger on her lips.

"No. Not sorry" he said playfully. They sat there for over an hour, just talking. They both knew they were entering into dangerous territory by getting involved, but there was comfort in knowing they had each other and given their private living quarters, they could easily keep it secret. For a while at least…


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 8

'_What does this mean?_' thought Hermione as she sat at dinner that night. She often caught Draco's eye; it seemed as though they were sending silent messages to each other. He could see that Hermione was confused and a little upset about what had happened earlier, and began poking his fellow Slytherins when she was looking to make her laugh. Hermione did not know why she was depressed about what happened before. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She had fallen hard for Draco Malfoy, the perfect gentleman that no body but her saw. '_Let's face it'_ she said to herself, '_This just isn't going to happen. To start with, Ron and Harry would never have it. Second of all, Heaven-only-knows what his father would do, and thirdly, and most obvious, what makes me think he'd ever want to go out with me anyway? It was just a kiss, he doesn't want a relationship. And anyway, I'm not so sure I do either_'But in her heart she knew that was just what she wanted, badly.

She dropped her head to the table and sat like that for the rest of the meal. Suddenly she straightened herself having cleared her thoughts and laughed. '_Listen to yourself! This is stupid! He's still an ass! And besides, he probably just wants to get into my pants.'_

Draco saw her suddenly laughing hysterically, but she seemed to be looking at the person opposite her and he was suddenly jealous that he could not make her laugh like that. He so desperately just wanted to make her smile. For the rest of dinner he sat scolding himself for being so arrogant and not as loveable as he felt he wanted to be towards her (A/N Oh my goodness! Draco you're so pathetic! I know that was a corny thing to write, in fact this whole chapter is, but I wanted to make you smile :) )

It was a Friday night, and Hermione went back the Gryffindor Common Room and stayed with her friends until the late hours of the night. When she came back to her dorm, there was no light except for the dull glow of the fire. Over the top of the armchair nearest the fire she could see the familiar blonde hair of Draco, and in front of that on the coffee table a glass of red wine. From where she was standing she could hear him mumbling under his breath, seemingly arguing with himself. She stood and listened for a moment, though it was barely audible.

She coughed lightly as if to apologize for interrupting, and he turned and stood swiftly to face her, his cape billowing with this fast movement. With the light of the fire behind him, his silhouette looked almost haunting. Suddenly he leapt toward her. She took a step back in fright, but he grabbed her at the sides and was all of a sudden gentle. He wrapped his arms around her waist and once she realized what he was trying to do, she placed hers around his neck. He buried his head into her hair and she lifted hers to rest on his tall shoulder. And there they stood, swaying gently from side to side until Hermione broke the silence.

"Are you ok? Who were you talking to?" The swaying stopped and he looked at her as if appalled at her lack of tactfulness at invading his privacy.

"Nothing. I mean no one" He abruptly left and went up to his room, leaving Hermione standing alone in the Common Room in the dull light of the fire. She was so confused she found herself wandering aimlessly around the room. When she realised what she was doing she stopped, in front of the coffee table. She picked up the glass of wine and took a sip. It dried her mouth out and sickened her to her stomach. She did not understand how people could drink it with pleasure. It just now occurred to her; maybe they didn't. Maybe they drank it to soothe themselves, to get away. Maybe that's why Draco drank it. He had all that abuse inflicted by his father to face, in the past present and future no doubt.

She stepped forward and poured it into the fire, watching the flames devour it like a suffocating fish embraces water. Hermione walked up to her room and fell asleep in her clothes. She had a rather long sleep-in in the morning, not rising until 12:30. '_What a waste of a day' _she thought as she changed out of yesterday's robes and into clean ones. She walked out of her room and upon reaching the landing at the bottom of her stairs she found Draco lying unconscious on the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" Hermione rushed over to him and tried to wake him, but he did not stir. Suddenly she wished she had not thrown the wine away last night, she remembered that in old fashioned Muggle films they used to use it to wake people. She went to lift him but thought better of it. Getting out her wand, she levitated him to the Hospital Wing and called Madam Pomfrey. She quickly scuttled off to find a potion he could inhale to bring him to his senses. He did not regain consciousness for another hour however, and Hermione was there waiting when he did.

Finally his eyelids began to open, and his cold grey eyes looked up at Hermione. He looked confused at first, a sight that Hermione found adorable; she had never seen him like this before. About 2 minutes after he had come to, Madam Pomfrey shooed Hermione out of the Wing to leave her to look after him. Hermione hadn't had enough time to ask Draco what had happened.

Draco had awoken to find Hermione sitting next to his bed, in the Hospital Wing complete with Madam Pomfrey bustling around preparing potions and things of the like, which she violently shoved down his throat as soon as he had opened his eyes. Hermione had been talking to him in a rushed, mumbled speech which he did not understand. He was too busy to even get a word out with the flustered Mediwitch pouring things down his throat. She had then forced the Head Girl to leave and not come back for a few hours so she could examine him.

Madam Pomfrey got out her own wand and pointed it at his stomach. He was too busy getting over the last burning concoction she had given him to notice what she was going. When his abdomen had glowed red, she came up the side of the bed and put one sturdy hand on either side of the bed next to his shoulders, leaning in close to his cold grey eyes. He looked at her with sheer terror, unsure of what she was going to do. Then, he felt himself showing her what had happened before he had passed out, something that he couldn't even remember clearly himself until he showed her. She peered into his eyes as if watching a movie on a small screen. His muscles were tensed. Once he had began showing her what had happened he tried to hide it, not to show her any more, but she was strong and did not let off until she had seen it all. His muscles relaxed as she lifted her head and breathed a deep, contemplating sigh.

He breathed heavily himself, as if he had just been running and come to an abrupt stop. He had never had someone perform legilimency on him before. Madam Pomfrey pulled a chair up next to his bed and sat down on it. She had a concerned look on her face when she broke their silence and asked,

"Why?" He knew this - or something like it - was coming, but that made him no more prepared for it. He lay his head back down on the bed as if he was just about to bear all to a shrink. But he didn't. His features hardened, and he squeezed out through tight lips,

"I don't know. But it's not what you think"

"It's not? Well that does not make my job very much easier you know. I'm supposed to be writing a report on all the..." She was cut off when his hand shot up and grabbed her collar, determination in his eyes.

"You will not!" It was now her turn for a look of terror.

"But I...I have to..."

"Surely you don't have to mention all the details? No one needs to know everything, it'll just cause problems." He slid himself off the opposite side of the bed, wand in hand, and muttered a locking spell on the Wing's doors.

"Go and get your reports book. Now!" The MediWitch flitted nervously into her office and returned with a slightly worn notebook with "Medical Reports" printed on the cover. He snatched it from her hand and read the title page. It read

'_Any statement written in this book cannot be altered or erased for any reason. Everything written in this book is final. Copyright MediWitch association. Printed 1094' _

He smiled and thrust it into her hands. She had a quill clipped to the side of the book and she removed it to begin writing. She held it over the page, expecting him to dictate to her. He was pacing around the room, his determined face disappeared and a look of desperation was in its place.

"Well you can write it! Just write something like, "Draco Malfoy, admitted for a blackout. And don't forget to sign it!". She did as he had said, her hand shaking.

"I trust no one will hear of this" he said, reading the notebook scribblings over her shoulder. He looked relieved, unlocked the doors and stepped swiftly out of the room, leaving Madam Pomfrey sitting on the chair in the middle of the room a nervous wreck. It was over, and she breathed a little easier when he completely disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 9

Draco entered the Common Room swiftly, expecting to go up to his room uninterrupted. He saw something move off the couch and all of a sudden he was enveloped in a hug of sleek curly hair and sweet smelling perfume. He was released, and two worrying eyes stared into his.

"What happened? What did Madam Pomfrey say? Are you ok?" She was talking fast again and he sat her back down gently to collect herself. He sat next to her, his hand caressing hers.

"It's...she said it was just a blackout. Nothing serious" He did not look at her while he said this, but looked at her hands, as if he had no interest in what he was saying or that Hermione was hanging on every _casual_ word he said.

"I was so worried about you. Do you remember anything?" He appeared to flinch a little at this question, but regained himself quickly.

"No. It's all blurry. Nothing really until I woke up."

She smiled. A truly happy smile, and he was pleased that he had made her smile himself. He smiled back, and continued, this time in a more affectionate voice.

"When I was...out...I don't remember much of what I dreamt, but I could hear your voice, and it was almost as if I knew what was going on. And I felt like, if I never woke up again, that I'd never be able to tell you how I felt...how I feel" Hermione was shocked. _'Could this be happening? Wow, now **I** must be unconscious!_' He raised his hand and stroked her soft, pale cheek. She could feel him leaning in again, and was so overcome with emotion she too leant in. Their lips met: for the second time. Last time had been special too, but different. You would have thought that that first kiss would have been the start of something, a relationship, a closer friendship, but things had gone on as usual after that, as if nothing had happened.

They did not break apart so early this time, but instead it started getting more intense. He was leaning in so far now he was pushing her backwards, until he was lying on top of her. He inched his hand up under her shirt and ran small circles on the small of her back. She was running her hands through his silky hair and up and down his neck. Their lips finally broke apart, and while she was taking many quick breaths, he was kissing her neck and nibbling at her ears.

"We...should...go to...lunch" she managed to get out between breaths. His head dropped into the crook of her bare shoulder and he did not stop.

"No, let's stay" He muffled between kisses. She began to push him off, though she made it playfully so he would not get offended. Hermione sat up, breathless, hair in a mess with Draco still attached to her neck.

"This is lovely, but everyone will be wondering where we are" She got up and left him looking disappointed on the couch. '_He looks so gorgeous, and we really had a moment there. Why did I have to go and ruin it? Oh well, there will always be after lunch..._'

She put out a hand to him to help him get up, and he took it. By simply running a quick hand through his hair he looked completely normal, whereas she had to run many fingers through hers to get it looking reasonable. He saw what she was trying to do and walked behind her to help with the job. He was gentle, and she felt completely comfortable with him, though felt there was something he was trying to keep from her about this morning.

Monday rolled around all too soon again, and they were sitting in the study of Muggle objects class. They had been reading a novel called 'To Kill a Mockingbird', written by Harper Lee in the 1960's, and was said to be a piece of classic literature in the Muggle World. The Griffindors and the Slytherins shared this class, and were up to the part in the book just after Tom Robinson's death. Their teacher for this subject, Professor Smith (she was Muggle born) asked Celia Morgan to read the next paragraph for the class. She read:

"_Mr. Underwood didn't talk about miscarriages of justice, he was writing so children could understand. Mr. Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting or escaping. He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children, and Maycombe thought he was trying to write an editorial poetical enough to be reprinted in The Montgomery Advertiser_" she sat down.

"Thank you" The Professor said. She then began to go on about 'what do you think that means?' and 'why was the point raised about Mr. Underwood likening Tom's death to that of songbirds?' though Hermione did not hear much of what she was saying. This teacher was rather new, and did not notice Hermione's lack of attentiveness out of the ordinary, having not known Miss Granger long. Hermione was too busy thinking about...you guessed it, Draco.

The rest of the class seemed to breeze past Hermione, she was too caught up in Draco to know what was going on around her. Harry and Ron too had trouble paying attention. They were too busy at first trying to figure out what was bothering their friend, and after they had realized that she was staring dreamily at the blonde haired boy, they spent the rest of the lesson thinking of what she could possibly see in him.

The lesson ended, and Hermione rushed back to her room between classes to get some books. She opened the Common Room door to find a figure standing in the centre of the room, all dressed in black. He approached her with a long stemmed red rose in his hand. She took it, and he moved closer.

"Shall we?" He smiled and moved as if to take her hand.

"How did you have time for all of this?" She asked.

"You do know that most things are done by magic here, don't you?" He looked her up and down with approval. This made her suspicious, and she looked down wondering what he was smiling at. She gasped at the dress she was wearing. It was red; thin straps held it up with a rather revealing neckline. It reached a little past her feet, frilling at the bottom with many strips of material. It looked like ripples with the way the material is hanging. He suddenly twirled her around while she was still marveling at the dress, seeing it spin in a mass of red.

They came back and met suddenly in the middle, their faces coming very close together. Both chests are heaving, hers at the shock of these sudden movements, his at the adrenaline of having her react this way. She now noticed she had a large red flower tucked behind her ear and bright red lipstick on. They twirled around until they were both dizzy. Suddenly he brought her into a low dip. She was in perfect form, one thin leg appearing out of the slit in the dress. He kissed her deeply, her arms held tightly around his neck. He lowered her to the floor, and laid half on top of her, half next to her. They were getting more and more passionate, falling apart before it got too heated, and eventually falling asleep in front of the fire in the dimly lit Common Room. The words 'you're so romantic' escaping her lips as they nodded off to sleep. All thoughts of lateness escaped Hermione's mind as soon as she had seen Draco standing there looking so charming.

They missed their next class. And lunch. And their next class after that. They didn't wake up until just before dinner. Draco awoke first, and woke her gently by stroking her hair and her face. She looked so beautiful when she slept, more beautiful than usual that is. She woke up slowly, he could see her remembering the events before they had fallen asleep. Once she remembered all, she began stroking his hair and face in turn, and together they lay for another while. She knew the time by now, though it didn't seem to phase her that she had missed so many classes. He started with an apology.

"I'm sorry I didn't really do anything before this. The thing is, most relationships are all passionate at the start, and then it gets boring. I wanted it to be boring at the start and then exciting afterwards, when there was more build up. I was planning on holding out longer than this, but after seeing the way you looked so upset in Muggle objects today, I couldn't wait any longer"

She smiled, and felt a little guilty that her emotions had sparked this attack, but also pleased that he had noticed. She was also overwhelmed that he had acknowledged them as 'having a relationship'.

"Well, at the same time as we want it be exciting and full of passion, we'd better not get ahead of ourselves and rush in and do all the fun things too soon". Her eyes wandered to the way they were laying, him half on top of her, affectionately stroking her hair. He noticed this, and removed himself from her.

"I didn't mean that dramatically...I'm sorry" She looked down as if feeling bad. He noticed this also, and rolled back onto her playfully, just a little at first.

"You mean, like this?" He rolled onto her a little more and she laughed.

"Well, I guess we had better get to dinner. They'll all be looking for us" He agreed.

"Yes, knowing Pottsy and Weasel they will be here afterwards banging on the door making sure I haven't 'harmed you' in any way" He smirked and helped her up. He had said it jokingly, but thought about it a little more and realised he probably wasn't far from the truth.

He turned them back into their robes with a quick flick of his wand and they left for dinner. When they entered the Great Hall, they were met by many stares. They were standing close taking in the sight, and as they went to their separate houses he gave her a small nip on the bottom, which surprisingly no one seemed to notice. She laughed all the way to her table, where she was met by many curious looks and lots of questions. Most of course from Ron, Ginny and Harry.

"Where were you! You missed almost all your classes and almost all of dinner!"

"What were you doing? Haven't seen you since Muggle Objects!"

"Hermione? What's up with you lately?"

"Want some peas?" She was surprised at this last question, and looked around to see Ginny with a sympathetic look in her eyes. She was holding a bowl of peas, Hermione's favourite in the 'greens' line. Her features also held a hidden message. 'I won't ask you questions now, but we'll talk later'. Hermione answered yes with a similar glance, and accepted the peas. She then turned to answer the other questions coming at her thick and fast.

"Ok, ok. I went back to my room to organize my books for my next class and Draco and I began..." Her glance flittered nervously around the room.

"Talking. And then I fell asleep" They did not look satisfied.

"But we saw you running back to your room. It's not like you had time to be 'talking' let alone falling asleep! And talking! How is it possible to put up with his - " He put on a posh English accent and a strange face as he said this, " - _witty speech_ - " He dropped the accent " - all the time?" She was a little annoyed at him for speaking of him like this, but caught herself before she let it show. They were talking about the enemy here.

"You'd mind his witty speech if you were 'locked away' with him every day" She said it as if they were overreacting, with an air of 'I can handle him'.

"He's really not that bad you know. You guys should give him a chance" She got up and took her plate with her, signaling to Ginny that they would meet later before heading off to her room.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 10

Ron and Harry were completely confused. They looked over to where they knew Draco normally sat, but he was gone. Hermione was already fed up with secretly playing for both sides, and figured it was about time they all realized that she loved all of them. Draco of course (even though he could not understand what she saw in them) knew that Hermione was good friends with Harry, Ron and Ginny. Now _they_ just had to realize that she liked Draco, and everything could run smoothly.

She rounded the corner and while waiting for the little arthritic man to go inside and open the door, she felt hot air on her neck. She could sense him, and did not flinch when he wrapped his spare arm around her slender waist. He rubbed the side of his face into the crook of her neck as a dog would to a couch, though not quite so roughly. The door swung open and they were still standing there. The little man got sick of waiting, and when he came out again and saw them standing there, he went to shut the door again. This only just tapped into Hermione's consciousness, and she walked slowly inside with the blonde haired heroine still hanging from her.

She slid him from behind her and dropped him on the couch, straddling his hips by sitting on his lap and facing him. She kissed him lightly, and when his kisses began once again to run down her neck she said to him,

"They're going to know sooner or later" She let out a slight moan and he spoke in broken sentences.

"Know - What - " He was giving her little nibbles on her collarbone.

"About us. I'm seeing Ginny tonight. She's one of my best friends, and she knows something's going on. I tell her everything" He snapped his head back.

"Did you tell her?" He asked forcefully, grabbing her wandering hands and holding both of her wrists together in one fist. This frightened her, and her face showed it.

"No…I haven't told anyone anything...Draco, you're hurting me" She had fear in her eyes, but she also looked shocked and little confused. He forced a smile.

"Good" He continued on down her neck. She was confused. How could he be so romantic with her, make her feel this way as if she were in ecstasy, and get so uptight when it came to telling people? She pushed him lightly off her to look into his eyes. She was trying to read him, but his features were completely composed. She went to speak, but what was there to say? Her eyes said it all.

He saw this, and thought of how his words may have affected her. She was half way off him when he pulled her into a hug. She was half standing half crouching and it was awkward for her, but he was clinging to her and so she wavered there until he let go. Eventually she pushed him off, and as she was again going to leave he pulled her gently back down to kneeling in front of him. Draco lent forward, her hands in his. He held her hands to his mouth for a moment staring into space, as if pondering what to say.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted. I suppose you can tell Ginny, but tell her not to tell anyone else. Ok? Now there is something I want to give you" Hermione was confused. He sounded like he was in control of her, telling her what to do. He headed up to his room and returned with a box. He sat back down in front of her, still perched in front of the couch. He placed the box in her hands but she did not really move that much. She was thinking, and when he put his hand on her shoulder she snapped back to reality. Draco nodded towards the box but she did not go to open it. She just looked at him, and in a sort of absent-minded manner said

"Why?" He looked at her. Hermione knew that he knew what she was talking about, but he played dumb anyway.

"Why what?"

"Why? Why can't I tell anyone? Why can't Ginny tell anyone? Why can't anybody know?" She was getting slightly frantic now. He lunged at her, engulfing her in a hug and kneeling in front of her. He was acting so strangely, fine one moment and then so intense the next. Hermione did not understand, but hugged him with all of her strength. He could see that she was deeply upset and was thinking of how he was going to word his explanation. He peeled Hermione off him and looked into her eyes.

"Hermione, my Dad is a ... powerful and… proud man. If he were to find out that you and I were seeing eachother, I don't know what he might do. I'm just trying to protect us - protect you. The more people know, the more chance there is of him finding out. We have to be careful. I am sorry for the way I acted. What did you think I meant by it?" He seemed nervous. She did not want to admit to the thoughts that had rushed through her head at the time. She was not going to tell him that she thought he just wanted to have fun with her and have nobody know.

"Nothing. I just wasn't sure, that's all" She fought to keep her features calm and innocent so he would not suspect anything. He didn't seem to notice. Hermione scolded herself for thinking such a thing. There was no way that was the case. He was different now. He was different...

He pushed the box further into her hands and she remembered she was holding it. She smiled and moved to the couch to open it. He sat close to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She opened the small gold box to find a blue velvet lined interior with a hollow heart shaped silver necklace inside. It was beautiful, with small stones on the surface glittering in the light of the fire. Draco took it from the box and reached to put it around her neck. She lifted her hair.

"Thank you so much. I love it." she said. He just smiled and they sat there for a while, rather awkwardly, before going to bed… separately of course!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 11

The next few weeks went smooth for most, but while Hermione and Draco were getting closer, Hermione was starting to notice little things about Draco that she found rather unsettling. She often found him talking to himself by the fire and being secretive. Otherwise she was very happy. Harry and Ron were starting to get suspicious. Hang on, let me re-phrase that. _Harry_ was starting to get suspicious; Ron was starting to get _jealous_. Hermione and Draco did not show public affection (obviously) but she was acting differently, and they all saw it. She was thinking of bringing both worlds together, but she had now realized that it was an impossible task, and had given up. Even though she wasn't going to do it, she still did not like it when one group had a go at the other. She would glare and sometimes hit Draco when he had a go at her friends. Once she got so annoyed at him she tackled him to the floor. He gave up easily and it soon turned to fun. She would lightly tell Ron and Harry off when they had a go at Draco, but was more careful and less obvious with them.

They often confronted her about why she was acting so strangely, but she just took on the defense that she had to work closely with him as Head Girl, and that it didn't make her job any easier having to hear them make fun of him all the time.

"You know, he's not _that_ bad when you get to know him" she'd often say.

When Gryffindor and Slytherin had classes together, she badly wanted to sit with Draco, but had to sit with Harry and Ron to save their image. Sometimes they would all look over at him, and he would pull a face. They all scowled back, Hermione even poking her tongue out and laughing about it when she thought Harry and Ron wouldn't notice. But they did. One time Ron made a scene and yelled at Hermione about it.

"It's all a big joke to you, isn't it!" he screamed.

"So?" This was not the answer they were expecting. They thought they'd be getting an earful of the normal defensive stuff, but this time she simply shrugged it off, sick of their childishness. The N.E.W.T.S were fast approaching in less than 7 months, and Hermione turned back to her studying.

One morning Draco and Hermione were walking the almost empty halls on their way to 'Study of Muggle objects' when he swept her into one of the empty classrooms and playfully pinned her to the wall. She didn't mind. When they were late to class they could just write it off as 'Head Person's business'. They were kissing and his hands were creeping up into her robes. He had done this so many times before it no longer sent shivers up her spine, and she was quite used to his touch.

Just as the clip on her bra had come undone, two figures appeared in the doorway. The red head and brunette gasped at the sight, but instead of excusing themselves they barged in and launched themselves at Draco. He was ripped from Hermione and thrown to another of the room's walls.

"What were you doing touching her like that! **YOU** DON'T GO NEAR HER!"

"You bloody sick bastard! What the hell were you thinking! How dare you-" Ron would have continued had Hermione not butt in first.

"What are you doing in here?" She had only just grasped the situation. Harry, standing with Draco pinned to the wall with one hand replied,

"Professor Smith said she was going to show the class a TV today and this is the only room in the school with a power point installed. We were sent over to hook it up" He nodded toward the doorway where a Panasonic TV screen was sitting on a wheelie-trolley.

Draco had not put up any resistance to Harry's attack, but Harry didn't seem to notice and was pushing Draco hard against the wall, as if fighting him to keep still. Draco figured it made him feel good about himself, being able to overpower someone so strong. He stood still against the wall, looking bored at having to put up with Harry's heavy-handedness.

"SO! What's going on then!" Ron screamed at Draco. Draco replied in a sickly calm tone to contrast with Ron's, showing him that he did not need to yell.

"I didn't do anything _wrong_" He looked over at Hermione as if to say 'what else can we do?'. They had a silent conversation about what they were going to do, and came to the decision that there was no way it could be kept from Harry and Ron now.

"Let him go" She said, also calmly.

"But- but! Hermione, we saw what he was- _doing to you_! Why are you sticking up for him?" She glared at him and Harry let him go, but grudgingly. Draco rubbed it in by pretending to wipe 'Harry germs' from his shoulder while walking over to Hermione. He also put his arm around her waist just to spite them, but to Harry and Ron's surprise, she did not seem to mind; she looked used to his touch.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron burst out.

"We're... Draco and I are... What I'm trying to say is...-" Draco cut her off.

"We're 'seeing' each other" He said it in a rather matter-of-fact way, very casual.

It occurred to Hermione that he no longer seemed to care about his father finding out; he seemed more interested in getting back at Harry and Ron.

They all stood there a moment, frozen in thought. Hermione was busy thinking how they could have prevented them finding out; what lie they could have told to change the truth. She reasoned that would likely just have gotten Draco in trouble. She hated the looks on Harry and Ron's faces. They were of pure hate and contempt for Draco, more than ever before. She looked from Harry to Ron. Harry's face had moved to being unreadable, and Ron's was unbelievably broken. During this whole fiasco she had forgotten that Ron liked her, though he denied it year after year.

Ron tried to mutter something inaudible and Harry looked at the floor and said quietly,

'How could you?' His head raised a little after saying this, his eyes raging from behind his dark brown fringe. The class was starting to file through the door and Harry and Ron stormed past Hermione and Draco on their way to their seats. Everyone else took their places and Hermione parted from Draco to sit next to Harry. He stood up when he saw her coming over and kicked the chair over that was next to him. They stared at each other for a moment, hate in his eyes, pleading in hers.

She went to the back of the room and sat next to a lone Gryffindor but did not talk to her. The girl was surprised the Head Girl would sit next to her, and was too nervous to speak. Hermione was grateful for the peace. Ron and Harry did not look at her the whole of the lesson, and she could not concentrate. A few times she felt the tears creeping to her eyes but she refused to let them out. She felt alone.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 12

Hermione did not hear much that lesson. She occasionally caught some of the static noises and then over dramatic voices coming from the TV, and the quiet gasps and laughter from other students. But not Harry and Ron, they were not laughing. At the end of the class Hermione rushed out of the room to catch up with them. They had not stopped to wait for her like they normally did, and were only a few feet in front of her. She called out to them, and Draco caught up to her. She called again, and finally they stopped and turned around. Hermione gasped seeing Ron's face streaked with tears. His complexion was blotchy and his ears red. Harry gave her another contemptuous look and they turned and left. She collapsed, and Draco had no choice but to bundle her up and take her back the their room.

The next week was terrible. Ginny was the only one that would talk to Hermione, but she was torn between Hermione and Ron. The two friends often met in the library when it was fairly empty, sitting in a deserted corner. Hermione knew that Ginny was doing this so that Ron wouldn't find out that they were talking to each other. She didn't mind, she just wanted someone to talk to.

Normally they talked about how upset Ron was, and how Harry had been breaking things and then putting them magically together again just to break them the next day. He was angry. Ginny went through different moods. One day she was bubbling about how her best friend was going out with the gorgeous Draco Malfoy, and the next day she was confused how she could do that to her best friends.

Maybe it was because Hermione felt alone that it happened, or maybe it was because they were getting further in their relationship, but Hermione and Draco were actually getting closer during all of this. He was expecting her to push him away, as if he was the cause of all of this trouble. They didn't have to worry about Harry and Ron telling anyone what was going on; according to Ginny they were still in a funk about it, and were hardly talking to anyone but each other. Hermione felt that Ginny was beginning to understand both sides.

Not only did they not talk to her, but they would not look at her and refused to let her sit with them at meals or in classes. This gave her a lot of extra time to study, but what was the point? She could hardly concentrate when she was, either by being upset by what was happening or having Draco passionately showing her that he was there for her. (A/N lol!) Her grades slipping were not yet showing up in class, but they would be evident on her N.E.W.T's. The whole school was concerned for the Golden Trio; especially the others in their year, who had known them from the beginning and knew them never to be apart for as long.

Hermione walked the corridor to her room and spoke the password to the little man. He slowly opened the door and she wandered in, not quite sure what she was back there for. She found herself in bed, and soon fell asleep though it was before dinner. She was not hungry. When she woke up it was still dark and looking at her alarm clock it was only 1:37am, the rest of the school had only just gone to sleep. She thought about the whole situation with Ron and Harry and decided to take action. She wondered when she should do it, but realized (with a smile) it would probably make the biggest impression at some ungodly time of the morning. She lept from the covers and grabbed her wand, leaving the room.

Hermione spoke the Gryffindor Common Room password and entered without caution. If someone asked her what she was doing out so late at night, she could just tell them that she was on her night patrol. She walked briskly through the Common Room, casually telling two snogging Griffindors to go to bed…

"Separately!" on her way through. She made her way up the stairs to...the _boys'_ dorms. The boys inside jumped at their study books when the fuming figure burst in through the door. All the boys looked up. When Neville saw the look in her eyes, he started stuttering

"H-hi Hermi-mione. Beu-eautiful night, isn't isn't it?" He looked stricken with fear, and Hermione said that he should leave the room. He seemed to agree.

She was standing there with her wand pointed at Harry and Ron. What they did not realize was when they were all hearing the great crash from the door opening she had muttered a freeze spell on the two, and they were paralyzed. Neville and the other boys sharing the dorm stumbled out of the room and went to sit by the fire in the Common Room. They did not want to hear what she had to yell at them. Harry and Ron had only just realized that they could not move when they went to put their textbooks down. Hermione surprised herself when she took to the situation quite calmly, she felt in control. They had only control of their faces. She muttered a fix spell to hold them there giving her free range of her wand.

Seeing them officially for the first time in quite a few days made everything come rushing back and her fury grew again. She stood at the end of the beds and announced:

"I'm sick of this! It's childish!" With this shout she slammed her hand on the bedpost in front of her, sending a crack down the middle. She resumed with a more composed tone:

"Do you…have _any_ idea how I've felt over the last few days?" Hermione walked around the bed and saw that they had given up trying to move.

"It's really great to know my friends will support me through anything. How could you two be so selfish and abandon me because of all this? Don't you trust my judgment!" She screamed this last sentence and collapsed on the floor between the beds. She was no longer making a scene, but sat blank with her back leaning on one of the Gryffindor doonah covers hanging off the edge of the bed. They sat in silence. A lone tear rolled down her cheek and she said absent-mindedly, almost in a whisper,

"Is this what will come between us in our last year?" The fix spell did not last long and pretty soon she felt Ron's warm arms around her and his bright orange hair on her cheek. He had slid down next to her and was muttering things, Harry on the other side of her.

Eventually they loosened their grip and looked at her now tear-streaked face. She was breathing unsteadily and wiping her face.

"But why?" Harry asked simply. Hermione looked at the floor.

"He surprised me. He's not the same... On the surface, he's sly and repulsive, I'll admit that, but we never really saw what was underneath all of that. He's not that bad, and I fell for him"

They once again sat in silence, making Hermione think that there was no way they could approve. Harry got up and faced them, extending his arms to his friends to help them to their feet. Hermione stood there awaiting her judgment, but all he said was,

"My butt was sore"

He sat her down on the bed. The two boys walked off into the hallway to talk. She sat there, remembering all the years of living in shared rooms like this one. She picked up one of the textbooks and started reading it. They came back and said this:

"We don't understand why you are doing this. We'll never understand it, but if you are ok with him, he must be ok. We have missed you, and while we still hate him like we always have - and probably more now - we want to apologize" She smiled with relief hugged them both.

"But I hope you know, we're not going to be nice to the smimy git, and will shut off at the mention of him." She did not like it how they were hostile toward Draco, but could understand their point of view. Ron looked disappointed. She noticed it, but said nothing.

"Thank you. I'm happy. Just know that" She left and went back to her room, falling asleep listening to Coldplay again, too happy to nod off by herself. She loved the soothing sounds coming from her iPod and fell asleep with a smile on her face.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 13

Hermione sat working at her desk a few days later writing some plans for the Yule Ball. She once again felt the familiar warm breath on her neck. Out of the corner of her eye she could see his blonde hair and it gave her an overwhelming sense of safety. She leant back. He looked over her shoulder and saw what she had been doing. He knelt next to her and feigned nervousness.

"Ah...Her-Hermione? I ... I was wondering if you.if you'd go to the. Go to the Yule Ball with m-me?" She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You're so sweet. Of course I will _you_ _cute nervous little boy_" She turned back to her desk and started muttering things needed for the big night.

Draco continued leaning there, watching her. Out of the blue he scooped her up off the chair and carried her into his room. He lay her down on the bed and in one swift movement managed to swoop down and lay on top of her, lightly kissing her neck. He was moving his way down, and his smooth warm hands were finding the skin below her robes. Hermione started making excuses, but he would not stop with that.

"Draco, I really have to get back to the preparations" He laughed and went on undressing her. She tried pushing him off, but he was too strong and persistent.

"Come on Hermione" He said between kisses. Hermione made to sit up, but he grabbed her. He had never taken such a heavy hand with her before, and she was a little surprised. He held her down and ripped her robe without difficulty, as he had probably done it many times before. She screamed, and somehow made it out of his grasp and out of his room. She ran up her stairs and slammed her bedroom door, quickly muttering a locking charm on the door before putting her back against it and sinking to the floor.

Draco was left sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He could not believe what he had just done. He had never been so rough with her before, and had promised himself to look after her. Draco knew Hermione was sensitive about sex, and he did not understand why he had tried to force it on her.

Hermione had cried for quite a while. She did not know when she had stopped, nor when she had slipped into a sort of trance, but it was at least an hour before she snapped out of it and stood up. Suddenly all she wanted was to be out of what was left of her robes and into new clothes. She slipped them off over her head and laid them down on the satin sheets of her Queen-size bed. Hermione assessed the damage to her robes, and vaguely muttered a spell to repair them. Figuring there was no point wasting time thinking about it, she got dressed and began again on the preparations for the Ball. It was not for another 6 months, but wanted it to be the best the school had seen. But most of all she wanted a distraction.

When dinner time came, Hermione considered not going, and just crawling into bed and sleeping till morning, but hunger got the better of her and she concentrated her efforts on getting out of her Quarters without using the common room. Hermione remembered a liquefaction spell she had always wanted to try, and thought now would be the perfect time to lighten her spirits a little. It was a simple incantation, and required ingredients she had gathered for this purpose a few weeks ago. She drank the potion and slipped beneath the door. On her way pouring down her stairs, she heard a loud crash and wondered where it had come from. She made her way up Draco's stairs to where she thought it had come from and listened. She heard another loud crash and she slid half way under the crack in Draco's bedroom door. He looked terrible. He was picking things up - breakable things, and throwing them. Picking up the glass statue his father had given him for becoming Head Boy, he threw it at the door above Hermione, a hundred shards scattering all around her.

Frightened, she fled. She was amazed how easy it was to get around as a pool of water, and slipped quickly down the stairs and under the small slit of the common room door. She raced down the hallway, dodging the student making their way to dinner. Approaching the door she thought about turning back to normal before she entered, but reckoned it would be more fun to surprise her friends. She sat as a puddle for a minute to catch her breath. (A/N If you can imagine a puddle having a rest) She was rather puffed. Not from making it all the way here as a liquid, but amazed that she had made such good time. She could see a few first years coming up to the doors, and waited for them to open them before going in herself.

Hermione puddled over to her empty space at the table and managed to climb up a leg of the bench to be on top. As a joke, she crawled onto Ron's lap, and sat for a moment. It did not take long for Ron to notice this puddle on his lap and let out a small shriek. Harry and Ginny both looked up, and as soon as Hermione heard Harry say "What is it Ron?" she sprang into action. The people sitting around Ron heard the puddle whisper something, and then suddenly, Hermione was sitting on Ron's lap with her arms playfully around his neck. The look on their faces automatically made her brighten, and all she said was,

"Sorry I'm late, it took me a minute to mix it up." All were laughing soon enough, except Ron. She climbed off his lap and sat in her usual spot.

"What the bloody 'ell 'd you do that for! You scared me half to death 'Mione!"

Hermione put on a pitying 'I'm sorry, it was only a joke' look, and served herself some chicken. Harry turned to her.

"That was awesome! Let me guess... Artemus Forghton's Guide to Strange and Unusual Travel Methods. Right?" She smiled at him.

"Yes, I've wanted to try it for ages."

The rest of the meal was light talk and Harry asking what it was like being water, and asking if he could try some of the potion after dinner. Ron commented that it was actually a pretty good trick, but to warn him next time, or better, do it to someone else.

And so for a while, Hermione was able to forget.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 14

The next few days were an awkward blurr. Dumbledore had asked them both to attend a meeting in his office concerning Head Persons business, but an hour before Hermione sent an owl explaining that she was a little under the weather and would not be able to make it. Draco was there fifteen minutes early in the hope of catching her to apologize, but she did not show. She had been avoiding him, and though they shared living quarters, she was quite good at it. In the mornings, she had made sure to slip through the Common Room unseen, to meet Ginny outside her door and walk to breakfast. Then afterwards, she would drink a liquidation potion and it would last her until she got to class, where she had left her books the evening before so she would not have to carry them. No one suspected anything; she always showed up to class on time and Harry and Ron figured that she was just having too much fun with being liquid to stop. She hadn't told them what happened between her and Draco.

Draco noticed that Hermione did not use the potion after class, but walked with whichever friends shared that period. There was one subject that just the two of them shared, without Ron and Harry being there. It was one of her elective classes. There was this one girl, he did not know her name, but her and Hermione often walked from class together. It was in Second Period, and Draco knew that if he was going to talk to Hermione any time soon, he had to get to this girl.

It was in breakfast that he decided to make his move. It would not be harsh; he just had to give her something that would make her sick enough to keep her out of class until the end of second period. Sitting in his usual spot, Draco looked over to the Huffle Puff table to where the girl was sitting with friends. Getting out his wand and whispering an incantation no one else would hear, a thin whisp of purple smoke left his wand and disappeared into thin air. Within five seconds another thin, almost unseeable whisp of the same purple smoke could just be seen entering the girl's goblet. Draco watched it nervously for a moment, but no one noticed anything.

"Stupid Huffle Puff's" he mumbled to himself as he was watching and waiting for the girl to take a sip. He sat motionless for three minutes and then finally when she lifted the cup to her lips, he continued on with his breakfast. The effects would not be sudden, and would likely not raise suspicion. In the background he could hear his name being called, but he was too far into a trance to hear them. He was staring at Hermione. All the while he could hear these words floating around in his head.

Hermione was a little shocked to find that Melanie, a HufflePuff and her only friend in the class was not there. She had been fine at breakfast, hadn't she? So Hermione endeavored to sit by herself. But it didn't last long. As if there was no bad blood between them, (A/N ooh! Double meaning! Gosh I am oh so smart! Lol) Draco glided in and sat next to her. She could smell his cologne but tried to ignore it. Once the class was set to individual work, she saw out of the corner of her eye Draco writing a note. He scrunched it in a ball and threw it in the air, a dove landed on her desk and turned back into the scrunched note. She stared at it a second before picking it up and throwing it toward the bin. The bird flew elegantly across the room and landed in the trash. She continued on with her work.

The next period Hermione was back with her friends, and before lunch she darted off to her room to put her books away. In front of the door lay a beautifully wrapped gift with a card attached with ribbon. She walked straight past it, muttering,

"Probably just something paid for with his Father's filthy money". Though, on her way out the door, she did stop. Not to open the gift, but simply to add something to it. She took the necklace from her pocket (she had not warn it since that day) and placed it on top of the box. She continued on to lunch feeling better.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 15

When Hermione entered her dorm she walked through the door to find shards of glass on the floor of the common room. She pulled a cord to call a house elf to clean it up, before going to her room. She hadn't spoken to Draco in almost two weeks, and there was no way she was going into his room to investigate what was going on. If he was in one of his frightening moods, who knows what he might do to her?

'_What's going on?'_ She thought as she took off her shoes to replace them with her slippers. But this was stupid. Avoiding Draco was one thing, but she couldn't live in fear that something might happen. She decided to sit in front of the fire with a hot chocolate and continue on some of the preparations for the Yule Ball.

She rushed out of her room to catch the house elf before he left to ask for a hot chocolate. He was nearly finished cleaning, and rushed off to fetch the drink. She flopped onto the couch and thought of all the things that had happened to her so far in her seventh year. She had…fallen in love? Wow, that seemed like such a big commitment. But when he had attacked her, had she just fallen _out_ of love? That is, if she had ever been _in_ it in the first place.

Hermione was too deep in thought to realise the house elf come and go with the delivery of her hot chocolate. She only snapped out of it when the common room door swung open and Draco walked in. He looked terrible; his face looked aged due to lack of sleep and his features sketchy. He was angry at the whole situation, and had not been able to talk to Hermione since the day he had upset her. Now was his chance. He walked briskly over and sat next to Hermione as if he thought she would escape, not too close, and waited until he knew what to say. Her first reaction was to get up and leave, but he had looked rather troubled ever since it happened, and she decided to wait and see what he had to say.

"What can I say?" He said to her. As he looked up at her she noticed tears brimming in his eyes. She was shocked. Hermione was stunned that she had effected him in this way, and for a while could only sit and stare. Eventually she was able to whisper.

"Why?" It was too quiet for him to hear, so she repeated in a louder voice, "Why?" He looked at the floor. He made to hold her hand, but she moved away. He looked hurt, but went on:

"I don't know why. The thought just crossed my mind while I was kissing you, and then it was like I had no control over what was happening."

Hermione looked into his eyes and saw nothing but remorse. It was strange to see a look like that on _his_ face, but she remembered this was her Draco she was talking to, not the one everyone else saw. She felt bad for him and wanted nothing more than to feel once again like she had when they were together.

"So what does this mean?" she asked.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry for what I did to you, but please, will you take me back?"

She though about what this meant. He had really frightened her, and even hurt her a little, but the look in his eyes was so moving she truly believed he meant every word that he said.

Hermione could not control herself. She leant over and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "Yes".

He hugged her tightly, grateful to have a vice once more; something to come back to, to live for. Hermione had no idea of the disturbed state of Draco's mind... but strangely enough, neither did he.

They were still agreed to keep their relationship under wraps, though one morning on their way to breakfast together they were holding hands, and forgot to break apart before entering the Great Hall. People noticed. Because of their position in the school, no one dared ask them about what it meant, and luckily enough for them, none of their friends had seen it happen… but their oblivion would not last for long. For such a small thing, it seemed to arouse a lot of gossip among the students at Hogwarts, and it was not even the end of first period before Ginny heard and told the others. Harry and Ron hadn't heard anyone say anything… everybody figured they'd already know, but Ron got quite a few pityingly looks throughout the morning. It seemed the whole school knew about Ron's unrequited love for Hermione.

They had been aware (through muffled words from Hermione one morning) that the two had split up, but refused to tell them why. At that time, they had tried not to show that they knew it would happen all along, but couldn't help letting in a few snide remarks like, 'he was no good for you anyway that rotten mongrel', etc. They had been happy, knowing that Hermione had made the right choice in breaking up with him, but now they were simply disappointed. When they had found out they were back together, it went something like this:

Ginny had run at them with incredible speed, her bright orange hair billowing behind her. She was not careful about it either, and had bumped quite a few students that were in her way. She almost forgot to leave enough time to stop, and nearly bowled Harry over with the excess momentum.

"You'll never guess what happened at breakfast this morning everyone's talking about it Hermione and Draco entered the Great Hall holding hands and looking all affectionate and stuff but did you know? No body told me directly because they figured I would already know the whole story but I did get some weird questions all through the morning but did you know?" She finally stopped, and seemed to notice Ron's shattered expression for the first time.

Ron did not say anything. He had been shattered when he first learned that Hermione and Draco were seeing one another; especially seeing them making out in that classroom, and many nights laying awake thinking of them sharing living quarters. And then he had been silently happy that they had broken up. He had planned to ask her out since they had separated, but every time he saw there were either other people around, or she was buzzing around being liquid and avoiding Draco. He had come close once. _He had said, "Hermione, there is something I want to ask you. Will…" but Hermione had spotted Crabb and Goyle coming around the corner and figured Draco would be next. She had darted off and left him standing there, feeling like he was really going to go through with it that time. _

Ron turned and left. Harry didn't follow him. He knew what it was about, and thought it best that Ron be left alone for a while. Ron headed straight for the Griffindor quarters, and without skipping a beat, headed up to his room, unceremoniously dropped his books and flopped onto the bed, face first, at an odd angle with his legs from his knees down hanging off the edge. There he stayed for the whole of the first period. And the next. And through half of lunch. He barely slept. He just laid there thinking about Hermione and Draco, and how long he had liked Hermione, and how many opportunities he had had to ask her out over the last six years and didn't take advantage of them. Now she was taken and he had well and truly missed out.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 16

Mrs. Smith had been alternating between reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and introducing them to new objects in Muggle Studies. This week they were concentrating on wars and weapons. This wasn't part of the traditional teaching material, but Mrs. Smith had a personal interest in history and battles. They began by learning about the traditional weapons of war, like the catapult and swords, to more modern inventions like the gun. The teacher even brought in a real gun with her, though she assured the class there were no bullets and she would not be doing demonstrations. The gun fascinated most of the students, but Draco was too busy writing notes and flying them over to Hermione when the teacher wasn't looking. The two made sure to look pissed off at each other with the note passing so none of the students would get suspicious.

They were shown how the gun worked and asked to write a 'pros and cons' essay about guns during the rest of the class to be handed in at the end of the period. The class dispersed, and they all went to lunch. After lunch Hermione was just leaving the Great Hall to grab some books for her next class when Draco bounded up to her and engulfed her in a huge hug. She was not sure how to react; she just stood there dumbfounded with her hands sticking out at her sides. He put his hands on the sides of her face and kissed her sporadically on the lips; short, quick, excited kisses. Amazingly, no one seemed to notice except some of the Griffindors sitting nearby or leaving for their next class. All the other students were carrying on as usual and those that noticed stood staring in amazement.

Hermione pulled away from Draco and looked with shock into his steel-grey eyes. To her surprise, Draco's expression was one of excitement and happiness like nothing she'd ever seen. He kissed her again but this time she managed to ask him,

"What is it? What's going on?" He held her face and exclaimed,

"It's my father!" At the mention of Lucius made Hermione feel momentarily ill, until Draco exclaimed,

"He's in Azkaban!" This took a second for Hermione to register what she had just heard. When it finally sunk in, she hugged him in an excited and tight embrace. She breathed a sigh of relief and kissed him passionately back.

By this time the students in the Great Hall were starting to realise what was going on and within 30 seconds the entire hall had fallen quiet. Everyone stared in shock but the couple everyone was staring at were too engrossed in each other to notice. They continued to kiss and hug each other for a while and then Draco held his arms around her as they left the hall as if they were the only ones in the room. They made their way outside and found a low stone to sit on.

"When did you find out?" Hermione asked when they settled.

"Just before I told you. Crabb told me. The ministry finally found him after he'd been hiding for so long. When they did, it wasn't hard to find cause to take him in. All those wizards and witches he's killed over the years…" Hermione could see that talking about his father was hard for him, and she tried to comfort him. She hugged him and whispered in his ear,

"It's ok. It's all over now. He'll never get out of there alive by the time he's served his sentence."

Draco lightened up and said in a happier tone,

"You know that this means we could go public? With our relationship I mean."

"Wouldn't you be worried of what the other Slytherins would think?" It made Hermione nervous just thinking about it. Draco put on a posh accent.

"Are you joking? I am the King of Slytherin! No one would dare cross me!" He became more serious now at seeing the worrying look in her eyes. He knew what she was thinking.

"And they wouldn't hurt you, because they'd know that my wrath would make them wish they'd never been born. I won't let anyone hurt you Hermione."

He embraced her and she felt safe being once again in his arms.

The school was buzzing with the news of the new relationship. When I say buzzing, I mean all of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. All the Slytherins were too disgusted to believe it, and the Griffindors were of mixed emotions. Friends of the Golden Trio were certainly not pleased; especially those who knew how deeply effected Ron was by the whole thing. But the happy couple were just that – happy. They remained attached at the hip for the rest of the day (even sat together in classes) and hardly spoke to another person all day.

They had to attend a Head persons meeting that evening and so arrived at Dumbledore's office at 7:30pm on the dot. This the first meeting where the Head Boy and Head Girl had shown up. Other times they had either made an excuse not to go because they were avoiding each other, or Draco could not make it because of Quiddich practise. The meeting was mainly just discussions about the preparations for the Yule Ball. As the two were turning to leave, Dumbledore asked the pair to sit back down again. He looked serious.

"Just one more thing. I have heard tell around the school that you two are in a… relationship? Is that accurate?" The pair nodded.

"Ah. Well then, I feel I need to mention something about the appropriate use of your private rooms?" He peered at them both over his half-moon glasses and raised an eyebrow to emphasise his point.

"We understand, sir." Hermione assured him. The pair wore awkward smiles and Dumbledore looked relieved. Their headmaster let them go and by this time it was 8:15pm.

Hermione and Draco sat on the couch in front of a roaring fireplace for hours that night talking and getting to know each other better. Finally, at around 2am the couple said goodnight and headed up to their private rooms. Hermione sat on her bed and thought about all that was going on in her life. Could this be real? Not only was she in a serious relationship, but with the Head Boy, and none other than Draco Malfoy! But one thing was still troubling her. When she had found him unconscious all those weeks ago, what had happened? People don't just pass out for no reason, and there certainly reason she could think of that may have caused it. He was in prime physical condition (Wink wink). Though it bothered her, she still didn't feel she could ask him about it just yet. Maybe she would venture to the hospital wing and ask Madam Pomfrey about it in her next free period.

Hermione pulled on her favourite pyjamas and slipped between the covers for a peaceful night's sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 17

The next day after DADA, Hermione had a free period and decided she would go and visit the hospital wing after all. First she stopped at her room to put her books in, and dawdled around for a while after that. She was stalling. Though she was curious about what happened, a small part of her was worried about what she was about to find out. She eventually reached the hospital wing, and decided it was time to face the music. She pushed through the doors and saw Madame Pomfrey making up one of the sick beds. When she heard the doors close she turned around and smiled warmly at Hermione. The two had become quite acquainted over the years, what with all of Harry's trips to the wing, and Hermione had often visited him when he was there.

"I was wondering if I could speak with you for a moment?" Hermione asked timidly. She thought it was impolite to ask about someone else's business, and she was rather nervous.

"Of course dear! Have a seat" As the mediwitch said this she magicked a pair of stools for the two to sit down. Hermione sat down and looked at the floor for a minute, thinking of how to put what she wanted to say.

"I was wondering about Draco… Do you remember a few weeks ago when I brought him in for a blackout?" Hermione looked up at the mediwitch and noticed that she looked a little nervous at the mention of the incident. She continued anyway.

"I was wondering… Did you ever find out what happened? Why he passed out I mean? There must be a reason, I mean people don't just –" She was cut off when Madam Pomfrey got up and continued making the bed. Hermione got up and followed her.

"Please tell me. I'm worried about him and –" Now there was a look of sheer terror in the nurse's eyes. She grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and came in close to her, looking around nervously as if to make sure they were alone.

"Listen to me. That boy is dangerous. You get away from him and be careful not to let him sneak up on you. He has serious problems and I don't want you getting mixed up in any of them." Hermione did not understand what she was talking about but she had not answered her question. If she did not find out soon, she never would. She looked at Madam Pomfrey pleadingly.

"Please, if you know anything. Even if it is just a guess. Please tell me." Still holding onto her shoulders, she led her over to the stools and sat her down gently, drawing her stool closer to the young student.

"I really shouldn't say anything. I'd be fired from the school if anyone found out, especially with such a sensitive case." She paused, and thought for a moment. When she spoke again, it was in a hushed voice.

"This is all I will tell you. You are smart and will figure the rest out for yourself I've no doubt. You must not tell anyone what I have told you, and for god's sake, don't breathe a word to master Malfoy himself." Hermione nodded in understanding to hurry things along.

"Let me just say… He's got a lot of problems that boy. What with his father abusing him and all. He's pretty messed up. Maybe he just wanted… Maybe he just wanted it all to be over." The mediwitch stood, walked into her office and closed the door. Hermione was left sitting there in disbelief.

It took a moment for her to fully register what she had been told. She felt sick. Had Draco really tried to… kill himself? That couldn't be. But deep inside, Hermione was starting to piece it all together. The broken glass, the sudden tantrums, the innumerable times she had found him talking to himself. Was Draco really going mad? _No. There's no way. If he's distressed it's probably just because deep down he is upset that his father is in Azkaban. To add to that, school work is a major stress and the N.E.W.T's are coming up at the end of the year. He has all these new responsibilities now being Head Boy and let's face it, what teenager wouldn't get freaked out by all of that?_ By the time Hermione left the hospital wing she had convinced herself that Draco was fine and just being a normal teenage boy. Though, deep down there was a part of her that had other ideas. It was this part of her that Hermione chose to ignore.

Hermione was determined to prove herself right. That night Hermione left dinner earlier than she usually did and went back to her dorm. Once there, she went up to her room and put on her bathers, a hot red two-piece she had picked up last summer. She ran a bath in her bathroom and poured in all the lotions and gels necessary to make the perfect bubble bath. Shortly after she had finished, she heard the common room door open and she called to Draco for him to come upstairs. When he arrived, he found Hermione sitting in only her to piece suit on the side of an enormous bath tub filled with bubbles. She looked at him suggestively and it did not take him long to act. Within about 3 seconds he had stripped down to his silky boxer shorts and was more than ready to jump into the tub. This massive bath tub was more like a mini swimming pool, and was more than big enough for the two of them to swim around in. The two climbed in and sunk into the deep mass of bubbles and hot scented water.

"So what's the occasion?" Draco asked.

"Dunno. Just felt like it" Hermione replied, as she made her way over to Draco. She sat on his lap and straddled him and leant forward so their foreheads were touching. They seemed to sit like this for quite a while, until Draco lifted her chin to look into her eyes. He kissed her softly on the lips and stroked her hair.

"Hermione?" He whispered.

"Yes?" She was excited at what she thought he was about to say.

"I don't think you're wet enough yet." She opened her eyes to see a cheeky grin on his face and before she could act he was swinging her backwards and under the surface of the water. When she resurfaced she looked anything but pleased, but smiled when she saw that he was laughing hysterically. With all her effort she flicked a jet of water at him and it hit him square in the face. The water fight continued until they were both totally wet and so was the rest of the bathroom. By this time it was getting rather late and Hermione and Draco were pretty tired. Reluctantly, they both got out of the bath and towelled off.

Hermione didn't know why, but she decided to lay on the couch by the fire for a little while. Hermione lay on her back and stretched out her full height. The couch was longer than she was and she had her head at the very top of one end. Draco wandered over to where she was and decided to join her. Since it was the only way he could fit, he laid on top of her but only half way down, with his head rested on her stomach. They were still in their bathing outfits and the skin on skin contact felt good.

Hermione was stroking Draco's silky blonde hair and pretty soon Draco's regular and measured breathing gave away the fact that he had fallen asleep. Hermione had had so much fun with him that evening, and was happy that she had proved to her self that Draco was not crazy, and that he was just a regular guy. Her regular guy. As far as she was concerned, it was Hermione 1, Pomfrey 0. She smiled and pretty soon she too fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 18

The next morning Hermione woke up on the couch alone. She was still in her bikinis but found that there was a rug spread over her. It had the Slytherin crest in the top corner, and it made Hermione feel strangely safe. She wondered where Draco had gone and what time it was. She rolled off the couch and into her room to get dressed. As Hermione reached the common room door to go to breakfast, she spotted something sparkly hanging from the knob on the door. As she got closer she recognised it to be the necklace Draco had given that she had given him back after the 'incident'. Although it brought back some bad memories for her, she felt she owed it to Draco to wear it as a sign that everything was ok between them again. She put the necklace on before she left the room and headed to the Great Hall.

That day in Muggle Studies they were handed back their gun assignments. Hermione of course got an A, having grown up in the Muggle world and knowing a lot about guns from television and so on. Harry got an A, the same as Ron, and Draco scored a C-. Probably because he spent the whole lesson flirting with Hermione and hardly listened to a word the teacher said. Even without Hermione, he probably still wouldn't have listened. He was – until recently – anti all things 'Muggle' and regarded the whole subject with contempt. When Hermione flashed her A+ across the room at Draco, he put on a 'good for you' look. Then he triumphantly flashed his C- and the giggled. Harry and Ron still had no idea how he could appeal to anyone, but for Harry at least, he wanted to be happy for them. He _did_ trust Hermione's judgement and therefore he reasoned Draco couldn't be that bad. Ron however had been rather cold to Hermione since he found out they were back together.

It wasn't that Hermione didn't care about Ron's feelings. It was just that she didn't want him to get in the way of her happiness, and he _had_ had the past 6 years to ask her out if he liked her so much. Little did she know he had tried. Despite the fact that the whole school knew they were a couple, Hermione still tried to be as discreet as possible. The couple did not sit together in classes and did not often show public signs of affection. Though she did not tell anyone, their relationship was this way because she did not want to upset Ron more than she had to. She was also worried how the other Slytherins would treat Draco, and so they tried to seem as detached as possible.

Though Hermione was deliriously happy, the thought that Draco _might_ have tried to commit suicide still trouble her. Being such a caring person, she was determined to get to the bottom of it and try to get him to open up about it. She hoped that she was right and that there would be nothing for him to open up about. She just had to think of a way to make it look like she figured it out on her own without the help of Madam Pomfrey. She could not understand the way the Mediwitch had acted but she was not going to betray her trust.

It took Hermione a few days to pluck up the courage to put her plan into action. She figured since he responded so well to the bath last time that she would try that again.

When Draco entered the common room one evening after his night patrol, he found a not on the coffee table infront of the fireplace. The note read: _Care for a swim? I'm upstairs… waiting._ He had barely finished reading the note when he pulled his shirt off over his head and threw in on the couch. His pants came off on the stairs and his socks at the top of the landing. He entered the bathroom at a run and literally _jumped_ into the bath. Hermione was relieved that he was in such a good mood.

"You haven't even been in here for 5 seconds yet and my bathroom is already all wet!" Came a playful voice from somewhere within the bubbles. Hermione's head appeared in the froth.

"Plus, you could have killed me since you couldn't actually see where I was" she added, pretending to be hurt. He swam toward her and cupped her face with his right hand.

"Sorry" he said before kissing her softly on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his muscular abdomen and they bobbed up and down for awhile in the centre of the enormous 'bath'.

"So how was your day?" She asked him as they danced in the water.

"It was ok. Pretty boring really. Oh that's right, I have something to thank you for." He smiled.

"Oh, and what would that be?" She asked rather curiously.

"Well, now that the school knows we're going out, Pansy has left me totally alone. It's great." His face beamed and she smiled in amusement. This was her chance. She adjusted her features to a look of worry. It would not take him long to notice and ask her what was wrong. Then she would tell him what was 'on her mind'. Sure enough, he picked up on it straight away and asked her what was bothering her.

Hermione paused before she spoke. Though he was her boyfriend, she knew well that she was stepping into dangerous territory by broaching the subject, and she wanted to choose her words carefully.

"It's just…" He looked at her to go on.

"I can't stop thinking about a few weeks ago. When I found you unconscious in the common room…" Her eyes started to fill with tears and she was shaking. While the image still upset her and her emotions would make her look more sincere, she was crying from nerves more than anything else. He tried to change the subject.

"Oh, don't worry about that! I'm fine now, aren't I? Try not to think about it, it was nothing." HE looked uncomfortable, but Hermione pressed on.

"But what _happened?_ What did Madam Pomfrey say?" She got the feeling that she was getting close to crossing the _line_.

"Nothing. She didn't know. That stupid old bat doesn't know anything. She's completely hopeless." His tone was harsh and his sentences choppy. She tried one last time.

"You can tell me Draco. You know you can tell me anything. Were you depressed?" As soon as the words slipped out of her mouth she knew she had gone too far. She had given it away that she knew too much. In a split second there was a fire in his eyes like nothing she'd ever seen. His grip on her suddenly became tight. She tried to pull away but his grip was unyielding. Now she was frightened. He put his lips close to her ear and hissed,

"You went to see her, didn't you? What did she tell you, huh?" He repeated the question, at a yell this time.

"WHAT DID SHE TELL YOU?" Hermione was speechless. She hardly knew what to say.

"I… I didn't. No - no one told me anything. I don't know anything, I – I swear."

"You stupid lying bitch! You think you can lie to me?" Hermione took it as a rhetorical question but he was serious.

"DO YOU?" Now he was really yelling.

"N-no. I'm not lying." Hermione sobbed. She was petrified, but there was nothing she could do but answer his questions and try not to aggravate him further. Without warning, he grabbed the hair at the back of Hermione's scalp and plunged her head beneath the water. She was taken so by surprise she didn't have time to take a breath and swallowed a mouthful of water in shock. He was holding her firmly under the water. After what was only a few seconds - but to Hermione felt like forever – Draco wrenched her head violently back to above the water. She gasped for breath and tried in vein to cough the water from her lungs. He got in close to her ear and yelled at her and whispered menacingly,

"No one finds out about any of this. _Any_ of it. Is that clear?" Between coughs she was trying to say 'yes' but she could not make a sound.

"I can't hear you!" Draco dunked her back under the water again, without warning. Once again Hermione fought against him but he was too strong for her. She was overcome with weakness and couldn't see that she was going to get past his rage alive. He brought her back up to catch her breath and he asked again,

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Determined, Hermione manages to squeak a small,

"Yes". Seeing that he was about to dunk her again she said louder,

"YES". This seemed to satisfy him.

"Good." Was all he said before he violently let her go, thrusting her backwards in the water and leaving the bathtub. He did not storm out, just casually walked as though nothing had happened.

It was a broken, petrified Hermione that was left in the bath. She managed to make her way to the side and cling to the edge. She stared wide-eyed into space, reliving the whole event in her mind. She stayed there for a long while, and eventually, she shakily got out of the bath and closed and locked the door. She sunk to the floor of her bathroom remembering all too clearly that she had done this once before. She broke into sobs and whimpered softly to herself. How could she have gotten herself into this mess? How could everything have been so perfect one minute, and a total disaster the next? She was completely shattered and humiliated. Everyone had been right. Harry, Ron, Madam Pomfrey. They had all warned her about him but she hadn't listened. _Her_ Draco - the one she_ fell in love_ with? - was decaying before her eyes. Crazy, violent and dangerous Draco was starting to show, and little did Hermione know it, but he wasn't done yet.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 19

Morning arrived and Hermione had not stirred. She still sat motionless in a crumpled heap on her bathroom floor. She not moved or slept since it had happened. She was still shaking and sitting with her knees pulled up tight into her chest. Every time her eyelids had drooped from exhaustion she would see herself under the water again, and snapped them open in a desperate bid to stay awake. As the light came in through the little window high in the wall on the other side of the room, Hermione started to come back to reality. After awhile she slowly got up, but wandered about the bathroom absentmindedly, as though she was not all there. She padded over to her vanity and saw her dishevelled form in the mirror. Though she was looking right at it, she didn't seem to see her reflection at all. Suddenly she lunged at the toilet and threw up. She sat with the toilet between her knees, elbows perched on the seat and head hanging limply over the bowl.

What time was it? She had taken off the watch her parents had given her before she got into the bath, and her left her wand in her room. She was too terrified to leave the bathroom in case _he_ was there. Too weak to stay sitting up, she let herself lay backwards, still in the same position and stared blankly at the ceiling. After some time Hermione could no longer keep her eyes open. She finally but reluctantly fell asleep.

Hermione did not show up to any of her classes that day. She was not a breakfast, lunch or dinner, and had not told anyone where she was or what she was doing. Harry, Ron and Ginny were more than worried, and approached the teacher's table at the end of dinner. They went to Dumbledore and expressed their concerns.

"Professor, we're worried about Hermione." Ron began. Harry cut in.

"We haven't seen her all day. She skipped all of her classes and hasn't come to any of the meals."

"It's so… unlike her" Said Ginny, real concern in her voice. Dumbledore thought for a moment.

"Ginny, I'll send you to her room to check on her." The boys went to protest but he simply raised a hand to hush them.

"I think it is best that we send one of her girl friends. She may just simply be unwell and she doesn't need the three of you storming in. Ginny will go and make sure everything is alright. Come with me, I will give you a password to get into their room." He leaned in and whispered a password into her ear.

Ginny left the Great Hall with Ron and Harry in tow, and they soon arrived outside Hermione's living quarters. The boys were fidgeting and pacing. Ginny gave them a reassuring look and went to whisper the password to the small statue. Harry stopped her. He pulled her in close with fear in his eyes.

"Ginny, it's too dangerous. What if _he's_ in there? He may not take too kindly to you barging into his room uninvited. Let us go with you."

"It's ok Harry. I saw him heading outside with his broomstick when I went to the toilets during dinner. He'll probably be on the Quidditch Pitch for a while. I'll be fine, don't worry about me." She smiled and whispered the password to the little man.

Once the door opened she rushed in and made sure the boys did not follow. She ran up the set of stairs she knew to be Hermione's, and knocked gingerly on her bedroom door.

"Hermione? Are you in there? Are you ok?" When she didn't hear a reply and opened the door and walked in. She expected to find Hermione in her bed, but it was neatly made and didn't look slept in. She surveyed the room and didn't find Hermione, so she decided to try the bathroom.

She found the door was locked, and removed her wand to unlock it.

"Alohamora" She whispered and she heard the door unlock. She twisted the handle and opened the door.

What she found startled her and it took her a minute to understand it all. She found Hermione lying on the floor with one leg on either side of the toilet bowl and her knees slightly bent. She was dressed in bikinis and was very pale. Her face was stained with tears and the bathroom had a sickly smell to it. She rushed over her friend and knelt down beside her.

"Hermione?" She asked urgently. She did not stir. She was relieved to see the other girl's chest rising and falling. At least she wasn't completely unconscious. Ginny noticed that her face was stained with tears and though asleep, the area around her eyes was red. She lifted her hand and brushed her cheek softly to try and rouse her.

"Hermione?" She whispered again. Hermione's head moved slightly and she could see her eyelids start to flutter open.

The minute Hermione's eyelids started to open, she snapped violently back into reality. She was stunned at feeling a hand on her cheek and immediately grabbed at it with her hand. Ginny was startled when Hermione's left hand suddenly clutched her wrist and her eyelids flew open. As soon as Hermione realised it was her friend she relaxed and let Ginny's wrist go.

"Ginny" she whispered hoarsely. She let her eyes close again for a second.

"Hermione, are you ok? What are you doing here? What's happened?" Her friend opened her eyes but did not look at her. Ginny decided to help her friend up and leant her against the bath. She crouched in front of her and tried to get her attention. A lone tear rolled down Hermione's cheek. She looked terrible. He hair was a mess, she was pale, and her eyes were blotchy. She reached out to put her hand on Hermione's, and noticed that she was also shaking. Hermione's head kicked suddenly into gear and she remembered once again the events of the evening before.

"What happened?" Ginny asked softly. Hermione took a sharp, deep breath. The tears started flowing more freely now and she broke into sobs.

"I…I wasn't feeling well and I… I umm threw up and I must have just fallen asleep." She looked at Ginny and put on a weak smile to show that everything was ok. Her friend eyed her suspiciously but didn't ask her any more questions. She just brushed her hair out of her eyes and reached for her wand that was lying on the floor.

"I think we'd better get you to the hospital wing." She said. Hermione shot a frightened glance at her friend but did not say anything.

"No, I'm fine. Really." She seemed nervous and Ginny couldn't understand why she was acting this way.

"I really think we need to get Madam Pomfrey to have a look at you. No offence, but you look terrible." Hermione was desperate not to go to the hospital wing. She didn't want to leave her room or be seen by anyone. She knew she would just get into worse trouble if _he_ saw her there and she didn't want to make him mad. But Ginny was determined and Hermione knew that no matter what she did her friend was not going to give up on this. Reluctantly, Hermione made to stand up. Ginny helped her and they walked towards the door. Just as Ginny was reaching for the handle Hermione pulled away and ran to the toilet, vomiting again. Ginny went over to comfort her friend and hold her hair, but when Hermione stood up again she had nothing left and passed out on the cold tile floor.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 20

Harry and Ron were still pacing outside Hermione's quarters when the common room door swung open. The first thing they saw was Hermione's limp body hanging in mid air, followed by Ginny, levitating her with her wand. Hermione was wearing some loose-fitting tracksuit pants and a large plain grey jumper. (They were all the Ginny could find in the hurry to get Hermione to the hospital wing. She wasn't going to let the whole school see Hermione in just her bikinis.) The boys' first reaction was to run to Hermione and Harry quickly held her in his arms. Without a word the three of them went to the hospital wing, Harry carrying Hermione with Ron and Ginny following closely behind.

Given that it was late at night most of the students were in their dorms and so they didn't see many people on the way to the Wing. But this also meant that when they got there Madam Pomfrey wasn't there either. Harry laid Hermione down on the nearest bed and Ginny and Ron raced off to wake the mediwitch. Harry sat with Hermione but she did not wake up. When Madam Pomfrey finally arrived she was dressed in a floral dressing-gown and had rollers in her hair. She bustled over to the young unconscious girl and taking one look at her, went to the medicine cabinet to retrieve the vial she needed. She opened the bottle and wet a cotton bud with the clear liquid. She then parted Hermione's lips and wiped the bud onto the inside of her mouth. She closed the bottle and by the time it was back in the cabinet Hermione was starting to wake up. When she awoke she sat bolt upright and looked nervously around the room. All her friends moved closer to her to try and calm her down but she would not lie down as they insisted. Madam Pomfrey walked over to the young girl and placed a thick blanket around her shoulders.

Sitting in the foetal position with her thick hair in a mess around her face and engrossed in the large blanket she looked truly pitiful. Her friends looked at her and at each other with grave concern. She did not want to be touched by anyone. She was still shaking terribly but no one could get a word out of her. Hermione sat there for awhile with her friends crowded around her. She rocked back and forth and her friends were all very worried about her. They sat in silence. After a while, Madam Pomfrey asked to have a moment alone with Hermione. The three shuffled out and promised to come back. The nurse sat in one of the empty chairs surrounding the bed and sat down.

"I have been a mediwitch for many, many years, and I know the difference between when a child is sick, and when they are scared out of their wits. Please, let me examine you. It won't take long but I can't help you unless you let me take a proper look at you. Please?"

"No." Was all Hermione said. She continued to stare into space.

"He did this to you, didn't he?" His name hadn't even been mentioned and still Hermione flinched. Madam Pomfrey nodded disapprovingly and without a word, walked over to her medicine cabinet. She came back with a bright blue liquid. She handed the small vial to Hermione and sat down on the bed.

"This is called '_Thinkosa Dissapero_'. It is a very strong mixture and I want you to drink it. It lasts for about three or four weeks." Hermione had read about it in books but let the mediwitch explain it to her anyway.

"Once you've taken it, you only have to think to yourself that you want to disappear, and you will." She looked pityingly at Hermione and put a hand on her face. Hermione did not flinch or push her away.

"Please be safe." She said before she kissed her lightly on the forehead. She left the Hospital wing and immediately after her friends returned. They sat once again in the chairs around her bed but didn't say anything. Unexpectedly, Hermione casually asked,

"So, what'd I miss?" She three were rather shocked at her question but answered calmly.

"You mean today?" She nodded.

"Well, Snape gave us a killer of an assignment and we've nearly finished dreading To Kill a Mockingbird in Muggle Studies. Other than that, it was pretty boring." Ron said.

"Lots of people asked about you" Said Harry, trying to be comforting. Hermione smiled vaguely and looked at her feet.

"Sorry guys." She whispered. She didn't know why she was apologising. Maybe for all the fuss she had caused and not wanting to tell them about it. They had no idea she wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs, but she couldn't. Not only because of Draco's threat, but also because she would feel humiliated and didn't want to admit that she had been so wrong. They all understood and reassured her that everything was fine.

The Hospital doors swung open and Draco rushed in with a look of worry on his face. He raced over to Hermione and cupped her face in his hands. She looked terrified to see him but her friends didn't notice – She had looked like that ever since they found her. Given the fact that they didn't actually _know_ what had really happened, they didn't know for sure whether he had had anything to do with Hermione's condition. The three stood and moved away from the bed to give the two some space.

"Are you ok? I haven't seen you all day and when I heard you were in the hospital wing I got here as soon as I could. Are you alright?" what surprised Hermione was that he genuinely looked concerned.

Harry could see this display was upsetting Ron and so he decided it would be best if they all left. While he didn't trust Draco, Harry felt there was nothing he could do. He didn't want to butt into Hermione's personal life, and especially not after he had given them his blessing. Harry motioned to the other two to leave, and they left after saying whispered goodbye's to Hermione.

Hermione was desperate to call out to her friends for help but there was nothing she could so. She was helpless. She just had to carry on as usual and pretend like nothing was wrong so not to upset Draco. Still clutching the small vial, she placed her hand under the blanket so he wouldn't see it.

"I'm fine." He looked worried and a weak smile was all she could manage.

"We should get you back to the dorm. You look terrible." He put his arm around her and helped her off the bed. They left the Hospital Wing and he led her down the hall. She was shaking more now and was frightened of what he was going to do to her when they got back to their room. Her legs felt like lead and each step they took towards their room they got heavier. She felt sick with worry and hoped her friends would come and save her. But they didn't. She figured with the speech she made about 'trusting her judgement' they probably didn't want to get involved. It dawned on her what Draco might do if they did try to intervene and she cursed herself for wanting them to come to her rescue. She didn't want them getting hurt because of a mistake she'd made.

They made it to their room all too quickly for Hermione's liking and the little man opened the door. It was strange, everything seemed to be going too fast and yet be in slow motion at the same time. He tried to lead her into their common room but she seemed unwilling. He didn't notice and pushed on anyway. Once in their room he asked her if she wanted to sit by the fire for a while but she shook her head. She remained wide-eyes and looked terrified, but still he didn't notice.

"Ok, we'll get you up to bed then." He lead her forcefully up the stairs and into her bedroom. He looked her up and down but all he said was,

"I guess you can sleep like that." He pulled back thee covers to her bed and helped her get in. Once she looked settled, he sat on the bed next to her. He kissed her softly on the forehead as Madam Pomfrey had done and left the room. And that was it. As soon as the door closed she quickly fumbled for the vial in her hand and tipped the potent liquid down her throat, like an alcoholic getting his first drink in months. He had not attacked her, or yelled at her for anything. He had simply been caring. Though he had done it rather absently, which was strange. Though he didn't seem aggravated, and it didn't look like he was going to attack her, she knew how suddenly his mood could change, and decided to take precaution anyway. She reached over to her wand on her nightstand and whispered a powerful locking spell on her door.

She replaced her wand and snuggled down into her covers, pulling them tightly around her as if for protection. She didn't think there was any way that she would be able to sleep that night, but as the potion she had just swallowed made the adjustments to her body that it needed to work, she soon nodded off into fitful slumber.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 21

Hermione awoke early the next morning. She hurried out of bed and got dressed quickly. She still didn't feel very well from the day before, but she did notice that she wasn't shaking anymore but had a dull headache. She decided she did not want to miss any classes today, but did not want to go to breakfast. She was hungry, having eaten nothing yesterday, and so sent an owl to the kitchen to request some food. She did not know whether they would answer to an owl, but she did not want to leave her room just yet. If they did not deliver back any food, she would just have to go without until lunch. She got out her study books and did a little bit of homework to take her mind off things and catch up a bit. Within 20 minutes there was a tap at her window, and there was a pair of owls (her owl plus a kitchen owl) carrying a small parcel.

She placed the parcel on her bed and gave a small treat to each of the owls. When she pulled the string on the box it sprung into a breakfast tray, complete with two pieces of French toast, a glass of orange juice, a blueberry muffin and small rose in a vase. There was a note on the tray which read, _Anything for the Head Girl. From the elves in the kitchen._ She smiled and ate her breakfast while she studied. About 10 minutes later she heard noise in the common room and the sound of the door closing. Draco had left for breakfast.

Once Hermione had finished her food and caught up on most of her study, she collected the book's she'd need for her class and unlocked her door. She crept out without making a single sound just in case he was still there or had come back, and slipped out of the dorm. She arrived just in time for her first class. She sat with Ron and Harry as she usually did and the lesson went smoothly. At lunch she sat with her friends in Gryffindor and they laughed and joked like normal. Hermione's trauma was starting to melt away as he felt her confidence growing. If someone asked her why she had been in the hospital wing, she would simply reply that she 'hadn't been feeling very well, but she was better now and thanks for asking'. While she was still trying not to think of him, she couldn't' help but glance over at the Slytherin table to where Draco was sitting. He was smiling at her and he winked when she caught his eye. She was so confused.

On her way down to the dungeons that day for D.A.D.A, Draco rushed up behind her and put his arm around her shoulders. He kissed her playfully on the cheek and suddenly she felt very uncomfortable with him. She closed her eyes and thought to herself _'I want to disappear'._ Hermione didn't know if it would work but hoped to God it would. She felt a cold chill pass through her body. Draco jumped and looked confused. She didn't wait around and ran quietly down towards the dungeons. Once she had turned a few corners and was out of his sight, she thought "_I want to reappear_" and felt a warm feeling all over. She proceeded to D.A.D.A quickly in case he caught up with her.

When Draco entered D.A.D.A he found Hermione sitting where she usually sat between Harry and Ron. They had sensed something was up but did not mention anything. She did not look at him when he entered, but sensed that he was not pleased. He sat where he usually did and stared daggers at her for the rest of the lesson. As they were leaving the class, Draco pushed past Hermione in the narrow corridor. Harry and Ron looked at her to see her reaction, but she made an effort not to look worried or upset. She couldn't let on that she had gotten herself into serious trouble.

Hermione stayed close to people she knew for the rest of the day, not wanting to be alone for a second. She didn't want the day to end, but she knew it could not wear on forever. After dinner, Hermione decided to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room with her friends. They were glad she wanted to join them and they sat together for hours, just like old times. But eventually the talking died down and her friends were getting tired. She kept trying to make conversation but they all seemed to want nothing more than go to bed. They looked at her suspiciously. She could tell they wanted her to leave so they could get some sleep, but they were too polite to ask. She had known this moment would come sooner or later. She smiled at her friends and got up from the couch. She hugged them each individually; a long, tight hug like she was never going to see them again. She exited the common room and left her friends tired and confused.

Hermione walked slowly down the corridor from Gryffindor. It was not a long walk and she wanted to stretch it out for as long as possible. She hoped that since it was so late Draco would have gone to bed already. When she finally did enter her dorm she found it to be completely dark except for the weak glow from the fire. She raced towards her stairs and was up the first few when she heard someone say,

"We're out late, aren't we?" Hermione's heart sank. He had waited up for her.

She turned slowly to see him standing in front of the fire. His arms were crossed and from what she could tell of the dark figure, he looked tense. She stepped back down the stairs, knowing there was no point trying to get to her room to hide. She stayed at the bottom of the stairs and did not look up at him. Her eyes were fixed on the floor and she waited for whatever it was that was coming.

"Quite a little stunt you pulled today." He hissed. She could feel her face start to burn with embarrassment.

"Come here." He demanded. She did not move.

"I said COME HERE!" Hermione made her way slowly towards him. She walked around the couch and stood between him and the coffee table. Still she did not look up.

"Look at me." She slowly tilted her head upwards but kept her eyes on the floor.

"Being quite disobedient today, aren't we? I told you to look at me." She snapped her eyes to look into his steel grey ones and he looked at her with contempt.

"Are you afraid of me?" He asked as if she was being pathetic.

"No." Hermione lied.

"You should be" His voice was calm and even as he said this.

"That disappearing act you did today. I didn't like it." He waited. Hermione did not say anything. What was there to say? He took a deep breath and removed one of his arms from their crossed position. As if out of nowhere he raised his hand and slapped her squarely across the face. She hadn't had time to brace herself and fell awkwardly onto the edge of the coffee table. She lay there, stricken with fear and he bent down to keen at her side. He reached out and clutched her face tightly with one hand, squeezing her cheeks hard into her teeth.

"You humiliated me today. You won't make that mistake again, will you? WILL YOU?"

"No!" Hermione whimpered through her compressed cheeks.

"Now you listen to me. There will be no repeat of today. You will honour me, and you will respect me. Especially in public. You'll tell no one about any of this. We are a couple. So we'll act like one. Do you understand?" Hermione nodded. As he had done in the bath that night, he roughly pushed her face backwards as her let it go and walked up to his room.

Hermione was still stunned from the strike across the face and sat there for a moment trying to catch her breath. She could feel a bruise forming on her abdomen where she landed on the coffee table and the side of her face was burning. It didn't help that he had squeezed her cheeks so hard. He had gone from lashing out at her and apologising, to lashing out and acting like nothing had happened, to acting as though it was his right to punish her for what she had done. What was next? She couldn't see it getting much worse from here. She was his property now and there was no way she could think of to get herself out of it.

She decided she did not want to spend another night cowering on the floor and he seemed satisfied now for the night. She picked herself up off the floor and groggily stumbled to her room, a bit light-headed. She plonked herself on her bed, not forgetting to lock her door securely. She eased off her shoes and changed into her pyjamas. Before she got into bed, she opened up one of her closed doors to have a look at herself in the full-length mirror. Her face was bright red and was starting to look a little swollen. She lifted up her shirt and assessed the damage to her abdomen. Surely enough, a bruise was starting to form and the area was very tender. She would have to heal it in the morning; she could not be bothered to do it now. It would be uncomfortable to sleep on but she didn't care. Maybe every time she rolled onto it it would remind her of how stupid she'd been and never to ignore her friend's warnings again.

Hermione wandered over to her bed and slid under the covers. She turned off her light and rested her head on the pillow. She was being stronger this time. She did not cry, or sit for hours feeling sorry for herself, and she noticed she was not shaking this time. Was she... getting used to it? Getting used to being abused by him? Hermione could hardly believe what she was thinking. She lay there for awhile and realised she didn't feel like sleep just yet. She turned her lamp back on and picked up a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. She sat up and read to catch up on what she had missed the day before, and then she was done she put on her iPod and listened to it until she fell asleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 22

The next three weeks were horrible for Hermione and seemed to be in slow motion. Draco had made sure she honoured her promise of being his girlfriend and she did all she could to keep up appearances in public. He seemed to be calming down and hadn't lashed out as often over the past few weeks, and she was starting to see some more of her Draco coming back to life. She had even had some fun with him on the odd occasion, even when they were alone in their dorm. But even 'nice' Draco could be harsh. He had insisted that when he kissed her in public she kiss him back. She had to laugh at all of his jokes and sit with him in some of their classes. He had even made her wear a Slytherin scarf at a Quidditch game between Slytherin and Gryffindor, which certainly did not go down well with her peers. She had even been told she had to cheer for Slytherin when they scored a goal. She was miserable, but couldn't show it. Occasionally he would swoop over and smile at her and check that she was doing what she was told. Even her friends didn't understand why she would barrack for the other team and Harry and Ron (being on the team themselves) were especially offended by this.

Hermione was doing her best to look genuine in all she did. She thought that maybe the more she pretended, the more she would believe it. She had to admit it was getting easier. Anyway, there was no point looking depressed about it. First of all she was stuck with no way out. And second of all, if she looked upset, she would have to continuously lie to her friends and say that everything was ok. Pretending to be happy and waiting to believe it was certainly the better option.

Despite Hermione's efforts, her friends were still worried about her. Though she looked happy to them, she barely ate these days and they sensed something wasn't right. They didn't know it, but she had been throwing up a lot lately and they noticed her getting thinner and thinner. Despite how happy and settled she looked with Draco, she did not like to talk about him. They had tried a few times to try and show interest and support in their relationship but sometimes she couldn't think of good things to say about him and avoided the subject. She normally just hinted that she didn't want to upset Ron and left it at that. To be honest, she was glad to have an excuse.

Draco let her spend two nights out a week, but expected her to be home after dinner all other evenings, even if he wasn't there. She could easily have snuck out on these nights, but didn't dare in case he came back and found she wasn't there. Hermione didn't mind staying in. She often had homework and if she didn't, it wasn't hard for her find things to do. Her marks were picking up after a slight droop and she had more time to read, which of course, suited her perfectly. She was learning to adjust to her new way of life and if she could live with the guidelines, she figured she would be fine. The fact that he now had control of her also seemed to calm him, and he was lashing out less and less. _Her_ Draco was slowly seeping back, and she was even able – on the odd occasion – to have fun with him.

She had learnt to cope with his mood swings and hadn't fall apart the last three times he had struck her. She had simply healed herself and moved on, and had learnt to ignore him talking to himself now and again.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 23

It was 3am when Hermione heard whispering at her door. She had taken to being a light sleeper and she woke up with the soft noises coming from outside her bedroom. It was Draco. He was trying to unlock her bedroom door. She did not freeze with fear like she would have only weeks before, but she did lay there and hope for him to go away. She just listened. When he couldn't open the door he got frustrated and began yelling,

"Hermione! Hermione! Oi, Granger, wake up! Open the door!" and banging on the door. She rolled her eyes and got out of bed. _Since when did I go back to being Granger?_ she thought as she crossed her room to the door. She muttered the unlocking spell and opened the door. Draco was standing on the landing wearing a pair of grey tracksuit pants and a blue shirt buttoned less than half way up. He was fidgeting on the top step and looked stressed and restless. His arms were folded in a half crossed, half hugging fashion.

"Hey. What's up?" Hermione yawned casually. He paused for a moment before he grabbed her arm and pulled her down the stairs behind him. He walked briskly over to the couch ad threw her down on it as it you would a sweater. She looked offended but he had already forgotten her and was pacing in front of the mantelpiece. He was biting at one of the nails on his right hand, left arm still folded, and he was muttering to himself as he walked briskly from side to side. All Hermione could do was sit and watch. She had never seen him this hyped-up before, but she was sure it would all blow over soon. He continued to pace for about 10 minutes and while Hermione didn't want to agitate him but she was cold and tired and wanted nothing more than to go back to bed. Gingerly she asked,

"Can I get you something? A drink or something to help you slee-" She was cut off when he raced over to her and got right into her face.

"You don't speak until I tell you to speak, you got that?" He did not wait around for an answer like he usually did, but went back to pacing. So she waited.

Suddenly he started looking around the room in panic, his eyes darting around and a look of terror on his face. Hermione wondered what he was looking at, but the room seemed the same to her. Without warning he grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet. He dragged her towards the common room door and opened it.

"Draco? Where are we going?" She asked as calmly as she could. He turned sharply to look at her and there was real urgency in his eyes. His eyes darted this way and that and then he looked squarely at her and whispered,

"We can't stay in there. We have to leave." With that he turned away again and continued to drag Hermione along behind him. She tried not to put up too much of a fight but he was walking very fast and she was finding it hard to keep up with him. He continued to pull harder but didn't get annoyed at her slow pace. Hermione got the feeling he was a million miles away. They continued on for about 10 minutes, and while they often passed the same place twice, Draco seemed to have a certain place in mind of where he wanted to go. Finally they reached the Room of Requirement. Hermione thought it was normally locked at night, but to her surprise the door opened when Draco turned the handle. They entered the room and Draco shut the door quietly behind him, never letting go of her or loosening his tight grip for a second.

Hermione turned to study the room, but to her surprise, it was bear. The walls were made of stone, but a grey stone, not like the brown-creamy ones of the castle. The floor was laid with flat, smooth cobblestones, and there was no furniture to be seen. The only defining features on the room were the empty fireplace and mantle. She looked up a little higher and found a portrait of Lucius Malfoy hanging above it all. She stared at it for second. It was certainly not something she had expected to find. She and Draco crossed the room he ordered her to sit in the middle of the cold stone floor. Her feet were bare and she wished he had put on her dressing gown and slippers on her way out the door. Just as before, Draco began pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, muttering to himself once again. Looking around the room, Hermione guessed it was replicated from a room in Draco's house at Malfoy Manor. She sat with both of her legs out to one side with one arm out for support. She looked quite relaxed but truth be told, she was starting to get nervous. She decided to address the situation calmly, and evenly asked,

"Draco, can we please just go back to- " upon hearing her speak, Draco swivelled around and pointed a stern finger at her, as if reminding her she was not to speak. He turned towards the fireplace and leant on it for a moment. Then he reached behind him and pulled out something that was tucked into the back of his pants. He places it ever so slowly on the mantelpiece and stared at it for a while. Upon seeing the object Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

It was the gun from their Muggle Studies class.

Draco continued to stare at the gun. He seemed to be arguing with himself, but Hermione couldn't make any of it out; it was too quiet and muffled. Now she was freaking out. She could see Draco was getting more and more worked-up and she had no idea what to do. She figured the best solution was to sit quietly and try to remain unnoticed. As if he had heard her thoughts, Draco turned his head and looked right at her. His eyes narrowed and the look he was giving her was anything but one of love and adoration. He picked up the gun and walked in circles around Hermione sitting on the floor. He swung the gun around as he walked and Hermione couldn't take her eyes off it. He'd stop every now and then and look at her, then start with his walking again. He was not fooling around. Draco was obviously deeply disturbed. Once he even placed the barrel of the gun on the top of Hermione's head and held it there while walked around her. Hermione closed her eyes and thought to herself _It's ok, there aren't any bullets in it. He doesn't know how they work and probably doesn't realise it needs bullets to work. _Then he leaned down to crouch beside her.

"You screwed me up, you know that? You fucked me up." He shoved the gun roughly into her temple and stood again. He then began walking aimlessly around the room yet deep in thought.

"You know what you are? You're a filthy, stinking Muggle. A low-life. A nobody." Had Draco said this to her in any other year, Hermione wouldn't have been so affected. It was just that this year they had had such good times, his words really did cut her. When he had had his other 'episodes', he had never called her names. He usually just hit her and left. But this was different. This time, he meant what he said. He brandished the gun now as though it were a toy, waving it around to emphasise his point. He pointed the gun at her and to her surprise, started to laugh. It was a small giggle at first, but soon he was laughing hysterically. This only terrified her more. Between laughs he said,

"I hate you!" Quietly at first, but as he repeated it he got louder and louder.

"I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU!" This last time he yelled it. His laughing automatically stopped and he was dead serious again.

He raced over to her, his shirt catching air with his sudden speed, and clutched her face in his spare hand, just as he had done the first night he'd hit her.

"I – Hate – You." To emphasise his point, when he mentioned her, he pointed the gun at her, and when he mentioned himself he pointed the gun at his temple. The way he was handling it so freely made her feel sick. She wanted to throw up but breathed deeply to try to calm her nerves and the bile rising in her throat. He walked to the mantelpiece but turned swiftly back, his face red and blotchy and screamed

"I HATE YOU!" As he said it he pointed the gun at the ceiling directly above where Hermione sat and squeezed the trigger. There was an ear-splitting bang. Hermione could not comprehend what had happened until she was showered in plaster from the roof overhead.

The gun was loaded.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 24

Hermione sat wide eyed, frozen still. The sound seemed to upset Draco and he yelled at the sudden noise. Still holding the gun, he covered his ears with his left hand and right wrist. He looked around nervously expecting another sound but when there was none, he let his arms drop to his sides. Hermione figured that since he'd never used a gun before he probably didn't realise the loud noise they made or whether they made any noises after being fired. Hermione's head was spinning with shock and she realised she had to do something or he would kill her. She put her hands out in front of her as a sign of peace and quietly started,

"Draco. Don't do this. Please don't. Just- just put the gun down and we'll talk about this. Please. You don't want to do this." Draco didn't seem to hear what she had said for a little while; he was too busy staring at the gun in his hand. Then he seemed to register what she had said and he looked at her menacingly.

"Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure of that? What makes you think I don't want to do this?" He was sauntering towards her as he said this. Hermione put her hands into her lap; she did not want him to see that they were shaking uncontrollably. He continued.

"Huh? You don't know me! You don't know a thing about me!" He was overreacting and agitating himself further. He turned away and leant on the mantelpiece again, this time leaning in close and bashing his head on the edge of it.

Hermione was desperate. She knew this was serious and hoped she would think of some way to talk him out of it.

"Draco…" The sound of her voice tipped him over the edge and in slow motion he whipped around and pointed the gut directly at her -

In a blinding flash she remembered the potion Madam Pomfrey had given her. She closed her eyes and thought _All I want is to disappear._ She waited. But there was no cold chill like the last time. She opened her eyes to see Draco spinning around to look right at her. She was not invisible. The potion had expired and she had no way out.

- In the same swift movement as the spin, he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger again, flinching at the loud blast the gun produced.

Draco stood frozen. He started shaking and lowered the gun to his side. All he could do was stand and stare. The reality of what he had done hit him like a tonne of bricks and he snapped back to reality. He swallowed hard and stepped towards the girl on the floor. What had he done? He took a few steps backwards and rested a hand on the mantel to steady himself. His eyes were no longer darting around the room, they were transfixed on Hermione. Feeling slightly more stable, he took a step forward and lifted the gun to his right temple. A lone tear rolled down his cheek. A whispered _I'm sorry_ escaped his lips before he pulled the trigger for the last time. Draco's limp body hit the floor and he did not stir again.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 25

_Harry was sitting on a park bench by the lake. It was a chilly day but the sky was clear and there were ducks on the pond. Suddenly Harry saw something move and turned his head to find Hermione sitting next to him on the bench. She did not say anything at first, she just smiled at him. She was so beautiful. She was in her favourite outfit, a pair of black skinny-leg jeans and her red silk top with small gold Chinese characters on it and a black sash tied around her middle. She had a flower in her hair and she looked radiant. She stood to leave but turned to Harry first. _

"_Please stay?" He asked her. _

"_Sorry, I can't stay long. I have to go. I love you Harry. Don't forget me." She bent down to kiss him lightly on the top of his head. She stood up and walked away. As she got further away, she became more and more transparent and eventually disappeared. _

Ron and Harry woke up early that morning to practice on the Quidditch pitch before breakfast. As they made their way through the corridors to get outside, they saw some of the teachers standing outside the Room of Requirement. They looked concerned. McGonagall was perched on a low window frame on the opposite side of the corridor and was being comforted by Hagrid. Both looked very upset. The boys continued walking, needing to pass through that way anyway and curious at what all the fuss was about. But the boys didn't get the chance to ask what was going on. As they got closer, they looked through the open doorway to the Room of Requirement and something recognisable caught their attention. At the sight of Hermione's all too familiar hair, Harry dropped his broomstick and ran inside, catching the teachers off-guard and racing past them to get to their friend.

Both boys entered the room at a great rate but came to an immediate halt at the scene before them. Harry immediately rushed over to Hermione but Ron couldn't move.

Harry got down on the floor. His first reaction was to cradle Hermione in his arms and he rocked her back and forth. Ron felt physically sick. There he stood, in front of his two best friends. Harry, cradling a quiet, still Hermione in his arms. A dead Hermione.

Dumbledore walked up behind Ron and place a hand on his shoulder. Ron slowly turned to look at the Headmaster, a shattered look on his face. Dumbledore raised his arms and Ron accepted the hug, howling into his professor's shoulder.

"Where is Madam Pomfrey? Someone call her! Quickly! Someone! Please!" Harry yelled. He looked pleadingly at the teachers standing around him. None moved. Dumbledore parted from Ron and walked over to where Harry sat, cradling Harry and brushing the hair from her eyes. Harry looked urgently at his headmaster. He was getting very worked-up and the Headmaster could see his plain distress. He bent down and rested a hand on the young boy's shoulder.

"Harry." He didn't hear him.

"Quickly, Professor! We have to hurry! We're losing time!" He cried needingly, not understanding why no one was doing anything.

"Harry, I'm sorry. She's gone Harry. There's noting anyone can do. I'm so sorry." Harry saw tears brimming in his eyes and he knew it was over. He burst into tears and held Hermione's lifeless body close to him, cradling her and rocking back and forth again. He looked at her still face, still not believing it could be true. Her eyes were still open and glazed over. She appeared to be looking at him, but also as if she was a million miles away.

Not 15 feet away, the cold body of Draco went unnoticed and uncared for.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 26

For that day and the day after, everything at Hogwarts ground to a halt. All classes were cancelled and everyone wandered around aimlessly, unsure of what to do. There was a hole now, a hole that only Hermione could fill, and there was not a person in the place that did not feel it. At every meal the Gryffindors would sit and stare at the space where the young girl used to sit, always expecting her to be there whenever they looked up. Whenever the doors to the Great Hall would open there was not a head in the room that did not look over expecting her to waltz in at any moment, smiling happily.

Ginny spent that day and then next in bed. She didn't talk to anyone, or eat. She hardly even moved. She laid there and waited to wake up. The only people she had spoken to were Harry and Ron, but they didn't say much. Mostly sat and cried together. But they had all had a dream. Hermione had picked each of their favourite places to say goodbye to them. Harry's dream was by the lake. Ron's was on the Quidditch Pitch; Hermione had flown up to him on her own broomstick and said her goodbye's right in front of the goal Ron so famously defended. And Ginny's was on a secluded part of the roof of Hogwarts; a place where Ginny often went to get away and only the two of them knew about.

The night after it all happened, Ginny couldn't sleep. She got out of bed for the first time in two days and left the Gryffindor dorms. She walked down the corridor and stood outside Hermione's old room. After standing there for a minute, she hoarsely said the password Dumbledore had given her all those weeks before and the little man opened the door. Seeing the room gave Ginny a sick feeling, but she stepped in anyway. She walked slowly up the stairs and paused in front of Hermione's bedroom door. She could not bring herself to twist the handle, but she had come here for a purpose, and she was not leaving until she completed it. She opened the bedroom door and surveyed the room. I was just as Hermione had left it. There was a stack of books on the floor next to her bed and her covers were pulled back slightly, as if she had gotten out of bed and left it that way. Ginny started crying, and could only stand there and stare for a minute or so. Then she remembered why she had come.

She walked towards the bed and lifted the heavy mattress. There, between two slats, was a brown, leather bound diary she recognised to be Hermione's. She took the diary from between the slats and replaced the mattress. She sat on the end of the bed and opened the diary to the first page. Normally it would be considered rude to read someone else's diary, but not in this case. Hermione and Ginny were best friends. They told each other everything and often shared the contents of their diaries with each other anyway. The first page read:

_Well, here I am again. Sitting in the Head Girl's bedroom at Hogwarts. I can't believe the Summer went to quickly but I'm excited to be back at school. I'll make this a short entry because I ma rather tired and want to be well rested for my first day of classes tomorrow. Wow, I'm actually Head Girl. I'm so excited, I don't want to waste a second of this year. I want to at least get to know the name and a little about each and every first year in the school and add to what I already know about everyone else. I'm going to be more outgoing and enjoy this year to the full. _

_I think that's all for now. There's never much to write on the first day. Tomorrow will be a longer entry. Now I'm going to study for awhile and then go to bed. _

_Hermione._

Ginny sat for hours and read the entire diary, cover to cover. Every word her late friend wrote she read and entry by entry, pieced together of her and Draco. She cried in parts, and laughed in others, and by the time she finished she wished desperately that she could have her friend back and talk to her about everything she had just read. She wished her friend had reached out to her, but also understood why she could not. She took the diary with her. Hermione's message was not finished yet, and she had some people she needed to talk to. She carefully made Hermione's bed the way she always liked it and left the room, diary in hand.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 27

Hermione died on a Tuesday morning and her funeral was held on the following Friday. The memorial took place in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and so many people came they had to magic the room to make it significantly larger. The only Muggles present were her parents, who sat stunned in the first row. The rest of the Hall was filled with not only students and teachers from the school, but other witches and wizards Hermione had come across in her time in the wizarding world. Also, as a sign of respect, several headmasters from the other wizarding schools attended, such as Beauxbatons and Durmtrang. All the resident ghosts at the castle were there, and a lot of the portraits had spells granted upon them for the day to also attend. At the front of the room stood Hermione's coffin. Draped over it was her Gryffindor scarf and a bunch of white lilies; Hermione's favourite flower. Dumbledore was the celebrant for the ceremony, and when he was sure everyone was seated he began the service.

"Ladies and gentlemen, students of Hogwarts, ghosts and paintings. We are gathered here today in loving memory of the young Hermione Granger." He motioned to a picture of Hermione sitting beside him. It was a moving picture, and depicted Hermione unwrapping one of her presents on Christmas morning, her favourite pyjamas on, and laughing at the person taking the picture. Harry looked at the picture and remembered taking it.

"But rather than to mourn, ladies and gentlemen, we should be celebrating for the extraordinary life that was given to us. Her life was truly a gift, and we should take this time to be grateful. Now, a song for Hermione and some footage kindly donated by her parents." Dumbledore stepped away form the lectern and bowed his head. The lights dimmed and there was a flash of light on the projector screen up ahead. Pieces of movie from when Hermione was a little child up until only a few months before her death, were being played in the screen now and music was starting to play. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione's parents all recognised it to be her favourite song; _Fix You,_ by Coldplay. _(A/N If you don't have it or haven't heard it, download it.)_ There was not a dry eye in the place. This song was so typical of Hermione

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to Fix You._

The song ended and Dumbledore waited until the crying died down a bit before he resumed.

"Hermione Jane Granger was a truly amazing person. She was kind, and loving, and touched us all in her own way. She was an excellent role-model, not just as Head Girl but in all her years at Hogwarts. She was a diligent and conscientious student; helping her peers wherever and whenever she could. She had two loving parents, who are here with us today, and they would like to say that they appreciate all the support they have received these past few days and to thankyou all for coming along." He paused.

"It is only natural that we should all feel a great loss at this time. Everybody mourns in different ways, and takes a different amount of time to heal, but what we must remember is this. We must think of what Hermione would ask of you all to do. She would not want you to mope around for too long, but to continue your lives and live it to the full,_ for her_. She would not want you to spend hours mourning, but rather to take your grief and use it constructively. _That_ is what Hermione would have wanted."

Now he recited one of Hermione's favourite poems, called _The Silver House._ It went like this:

"_There's a Silver house in the lovely sky,_

_As round as a silver crown._

_It takes two weeks to build it up,_

_And two to pull it down._

_There's a man who lives in the silver house,_

_In a lonely kind of way._

_But what his name is no-one knows,_

_Or no-one likes to say._

_So when you go to bed at night,_

_Just draw the window blind._

_And look out at the sky above,_

_This lonely man to find._

_But if the house is taken down,_

_And all the sky is bare._

_Then go to bed, because of course,_

_The poor man won't be there."_

"This next song is also by Coldplay", said Dumbledore, still a little choked up from the poem he had just read.

"It was chosen by Mr. Ron and Miss Ginny Weasley, and they dedicate it to their friend. It is called _Swallowed in the Sea._" The song began to play.

♪_You cut me down a tree  
And brought it back to me  
And that's what made me see  
Where I was going wrong _

You put me on a shelf  
And kept me for yourself  
I can only blame myself  
You can only blame me

And I could write a song  
A hundred miles long  
Well that's where I belong  
And you belong with me

And I could write it down  
And spread it all around  
Get lost and then get found  
or swallowed in the sea

You put me on a line  
And hung me out to dry  
And darling, that's when I  
decided to go see

You cut me down to size  
And opened up my eyes  
Made me realize  
What I could not see

And I could write a book  
The one they'll say that shook  
The world and then it took  
It took it back from me

And I could write it down  
And spread it all around  
Get lost and then get found  
And you'll come back to me  
Not swallowed in the sea

And I could write a song  
A hundred miles long  
Well that's where I belong  
And you belong with me

The streets you're walking on  
A thousand houses long  
Well, that's where I belong  
And you belong with me

Oh, what good is it to live  
With nothing left to give  
Forget, but not forgive  
Not loving all you see

All the streets you're walking on  
A thousand houses long  
Well, that's where I belong  
And you belong with me  
Not swallowed in the sea

You belong with me  
Not swallowed in the sea  
Yeah, you belong with me  
Not swallowed in the sea♪

"A secret wish of Hermione's," Dumbledore chimed solemnly,

"Was to get to know the names and a little about each and every new First Year. This is a true reflection of Hermione's character. While she did not achieve this in her days here on Earth, we will honour this as best we can after her passing." He stepped away from the lectern and motioned to the line of First years getting up from their seats and walking towards the stage. The girl at the front of the line walked up to the lectern and adjusted the microphone. She was holding a small piece of paper and a large jar. She placed the jar on the floor beside her and turned to the audience.

"My name is Molly Drummond-Clark. My favourite subject is Herbology and I love anything that's blue." She folded the piece of paper she had been reading from and dropped it in the jar. She left the stage and the next student stepped up.

"My name is Carla Ireland. I am half Muggle and I'm proud of it. When I leave school I want to be a mediwitch." She did the same as the girl before her; folding her piece of paper and dropping it in the jar.

One by one, all the first years stood up and told the crowd their name and something about themselves. They all contributed a piece of paper to the jar which was to be buried with Hermione. Dumbledore returned to the stand.

"This last song was dedicated to Hermione by Mr. Harry Potter. It is called _The Scientist_, and in true Hermione fashion, it is also by Coldplay.

♪_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry  
You don't know how lovely you are _

I had to find you  
Tell you I need you  
Tell you I set you apart

Tell me your secrets  
And, Ask me your questions  
Oh, let's go back to the start

Running in circles  
Calling tails  
Heads on a science apart

Nobody said it was easy  
Oh, It's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh, take me back to the start

I was just guessing  
At numbers and figures  
Pulling the puzzles apart

Questions of science  
Science and progress  
Do not speak as loud as my heart

So Tell me you love me  
Come back and haunt me  
Oh, and I rush to the start

Running in circles  
Chasing our tails  
Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy  
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be so hard

I'm going back to the start...♪

As the song ended there were no other sounds than that of the crying mourners. The words in that song meant so much to Harry and it had really struck a chord with everyone in the room. The lights came back up and a still picture of Hermione on a swing was on the stage. Her parent's had taken it in the summer just past. She was smiling cheekily at the camera and no one could take their eyes off it.


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

The service ended and people slowly left the Great Hall. By the end, the only ones left were Hermione's parents and Harry and Ron. Dumbledore motioned to them and they came to the front. They stood around Hermione's well loved copy of _The Lord of the Rings_ sitting on the lectern, and all laid a hand on it. It had been turned into a portkey for the occasion. With one hand on the coffin, Dumbledore muttered the word 'Resurgum' _(A Latin word meaning 'rise again'.) _to activate the portkey and they were transported to a graveyard in Muggle London, where Hermione was to be buried. They arrived on the top of a hill. There were no other graves around, but a lone weeping willow on the top of the rise. Looking out past the tree, the view was breathtaking. Here, Hermione had a view of London, her favourite city and her home.

It was a quiet service. The coffin was lowered into the grave and inside was placed the jar with the first's years' papers in it, her iPod, her copy of The Lord of the Rings and a red rose by everyone present at the funeral. Dumbledore attended, but did not take the service. He was dressed in a neat black tuxedo to match Harry, Ron and Hermione's father, and a Muggle celebrant was present to lay Hermione's body to rest.

Hermione's parents offered that they come back to the house for coffee, but were politely declined. The Grangers assured the boys that they were welcome anytime and thanked Dumbledore solemnly for looking after their little girl during her time at Hogwarts. The Grangers said their goodbye's to the boys and to Dumbledore and left.

Dumbledore decided to leave Harry and Ron alone for awhile and apperated back to the school, leaving them a portkey to return when they were ready. The two boys left stayed at the graveside for a little while longer, each whispering their goodbye's and thinking of all the good times they shared with their friend. Two hours later they returned to the school. Everything that had happened to them over the past few weeks was circling around their heads, including what Dumbledore had said at the funeral. They returned renewed, having said goodbye to their friend. They each remembered an old saying Hermione often used to recite to them: _Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere. _They were still shattered at losing such a close companion, but also determined to make something of her death.

Draco's funeral was somewhat different to Hermione's. The only one to attend was his mother, yet Dumbledore held a service all the same. The students of the school certainly weren't going to pay their respects to the boy that killed their beloved Hermione. Not even one Slytherin attended. They were all too disgusted at him for sullying himself with a _Mudblood_ and even Snape didn't bother to show up. His mother was crushed. With Draco's father in Azkaban and surely going to die there, Draco was all she had left. She blamed herself for Draco's fragile state of mind. She scolded herself, believing that she could have done something to protect him from his father's abuse. There was of course, nothing she could have done. Being of such high profile, Lucuis was offered a day of pardon to attend his son's funeral. He said he'd rather spend the day in prison than go. He was ashamed of his son for getting involved with a _Muggle_, and rudely declined their offer. The only noise that could be heard other than Dumbledore's voice was the quiet sobs of Narcissa Malfoy. She sat alone in the front row, wearing a black dress and black veil which covered her face. Apart from her the Hall was empty. She had seen the turnout for Hermione's funeral and pitied her son that no one attended his service.

Thus ended the tale of two of Hogwarts' top students. While the death of one left a large hole in the massive school, the other barely caused a ripple. The loss of one made some sick, and the loss of the other even relieved some people. But it was certain that the events of that year changed some people's lives forever, and Hermione at least, would never be forgotten.

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! PLEASE REVIEW! I'd REALLY like to know what you thought of my story, good or bad!**

**Thanks heaps!**


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